The first teaser of Game of Thrones season 6 is here!

“They have no idea what’s going to happen.”

The first teaser of Game of Thrones season 6 has arrived! Are you ready?


While it’s full of previous-seasons footage, it features a new voiceover from Max von Sydow as the Three-Eyed Raven, and what sounds likes Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran. It’s reminiscent of last year’s Sight campaign but more satisfying with Bran’s return. What do you think of the teaser?

Isaac Hempstead Wright tweeted about the new teaser, seeming to confirm it’s his voice in a roundabout way:

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Sue the Fury
Susan Miller, Editor in Chief of WatchersOnTheWall.com

362 Comments

  1. Hodor! Hahahhhahahahhahahahhahahhhhahahhaaahahahahaaaahahahahahahaahhh..hhahhaahahha…hah.

    Max!!!!!

  2. Yeaaaaah!

    That’s a great first teaser: no new footage, yet with new lines from two characters who have been absent for a while now, including a line that sums it all up: “They have no idea what’s going to happen.” That’s never been truer before!

  3. Good God….is it April yet?

    BTW I feel the line “they have no idea what’s going to happen” is totally directed at the fans lol.

    D&D have trolled us before haha.

  4. It’s like one of those meta quotes… “They [us] have no idea what’s going to happen.”

    Mind blown.

    D&D loves trolling us.

  5. Jon is everywhere for a character supposedly died of death that will never return …

    Jon est omniprésent pour un personnage soit disant mort de mort qui ne reviendra jamais …

  6. If it wasn’t for bran’s line in the end I’d call it disappointing but I guess I’m alone with this opinion.

  7. Wow, even with using only old footage, it’s quite interesting, at least to me, what old footage they decided to use. It, of course, leads me to wonder why they chose what they chose, especially in light of some of what we’ve learned during this off-season.

    Hell, just the shot of Jon bleeding on the snow cutting to Bran in his seeing-state, makes me wonder if I may have been onto something with my idea about Bran and BR being involved with Jon’s resurrection. My idea could still be totally wrong, but I have a little more hope for it now I’ve seen that teaser.

  8. Cant wait to see Bran this season.. He.s def a big part to play n i wonder is he connected to jons return????

  9. Ser Blount Sarkasm: It’s like one of those meta quotes… “They [us] have no idea what’s going to happen.”

    Very much like Ramsay’s “If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention” in season three 🙂

  10. dragonreborn,

    I doubt it, unless warging brings back the dead. But I do think Bran will be something to reckon with in S6. We never saw him in S5, so we haven’t seen him train with the 3-Eyed Crow. He probably pulled an Anakin Skywalker and blew through training. I think Bran will guide some events now that he can control his ability and use it fully.

  11. Kargaryen,

    Kargaryen:
    If it wasn’t for bran’s line in the end I’d call it disappointing but I guess I’m alone with this opinion.

    But, but, but fucking MAX VON SYDOW!!!!!!

    My word I love his delivery.

  12. One of the objectives I think the writers have to accomplish this season is to (re-)establish Bran as a key character. His prominence has progressively withered since the first season, for which there is a variety of causes — some inherent in the material (slow plot advancement, indeed, GRRM starts to run out of Act 1 material for him earlier than any other character; and the fact that the direwolf effects are really difficult to do convincingly on a TV budget) and some the result of poor adaptation choices (shortchanged character development, uninteresting visions, the botched reveal of Bloodraven). Case in point that when he took a whole season off, it met with little protest amongst the general viewing audience, and in some critical quarters it was actively celebrated.

    The show is entering Act 2 now, so hopefully there’s more to work with going forward, in terms of both plot and character development. I’ve speculated that the season could open with Bran, which would be a nice way of highlighting his importance.

  13. “and we remember” maybe I’m being too positive but I think a big bloody Stark revenge is being cooked, or all of the remaining Starks are going to die…

    But if it’s a revenge is gonna be bloody and cruel with a bitter end, like GoT is…

  14. I hear Bloodraven say “the past is the past, the ink (?) is already dropping (?)”. I must be hearing wrong because that last part makes no sense. Any help?

    Bran’s line is in part meant to troll the fans, but also makes me wonder in what context he’ll say it on the show. Could it be after one of his visions that reveals a lot more about the White Walkers than we’ve ever been shown? He certainly sounds shaken as he says the line.

    I’m not gonna make it to April.

  15. O.K, heart attack…
    4 months, 4 months…. More please!!! 🙂
    Bran, a lots of news for you, man!!

  16. MAX VON SYDOW!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGAGHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

  17. I wonder if they’re going to show the vision where Ramsay’s mother comes out of the pond in Winterfell.
  18. dragonreborn:
    Maybe Bran has something to do with Jon’s resurrection?
    It might. But I’m leaning more towards the red women.. I just hope that she doesn’t have to kill ghost to do it. Rumor has it that he will be in the scene when Jon is resurrected…”ONLY DEATH CAN PAY FOR LIFE

  19. BunBunStark: I hear Bloodraven say “the past is the past, the ink (?) is already dropping (?)”. I must be hearing wrong because that last part makes no sense. Any help?

    The line is “The past is already written. The ink is dry.” To me that says one cannot change the past.

  20. Kargaryen,

    You are not alone. Honestly, if those weren’t new lines, I would have shrugged this off as a fan-made trailer. And of course I have no idea what is going to happen, Bran, I haven’t seen it yet! I don’t know, it did nothing for me, may have even made me a little less excited.

  21. So Bran can see the future, I guess we knew that was coming; but as someone once said, there wouldn’t be much point in being able to see the future unless you could also change it.

  22. Watching second by second… they have the metling of ice to create the lannister swords two times… Stark revenge…or we get lightbringer this season !!???

  23. Kargaryen,

    This isn’t a trailer, it’s just the first teaser. And it’s quite a long voiceover for a first teaser. Compare it to previous ones:

  24. dwm,
    They haven’t even finished the whole filming ,let alone ADR,editing and the sorts. I swear some people bitch for the sake of bitching,did you think they were going to show some battle or what ? I can see some of you go like how can i be any more miserable today ?

  25. I can’t recall where I heard it – maybe one of the “Inside the Episode” features, but isn’t GRRM supposed to have said that “Bran saves the world” – okay I know it’s not this world but Planetos before some troll points it out. Though the tease (for me at least; can’t speak for other people) lives up to its name and “teases”.

  26. dwm:
    Kargaryen,

    You are not alone.Honestly, if those weren’t new lines, I would have shrugged this off as a fan-made trailer.And of course I have no idea what is going to happen, Bran, I haven’t seen it yet!I don’t know, it did nothing for me, may have even made me a little less excited.

    The implication being that Bran does know what’s going to happen, it’s what Bran does or doesn’t know that’s important not you.

  27. So while “they have no idea what it is going to happen” is clearly trolling the audience it probbaly means in context that Bran is saying Westeros has no idea about White Walkers. So will Bran find a way to contact some characters and inform them about White Walkers? Or will Bloodraven have other ideas in mind?
    Do you think there is other teasers coming before a real trailer?

  28. If they open S6E1 with Bran seeing the ToJ, or Jon’s resurrection, I’m pretty sure I’m going to squee myself to death.

  29. Bob Warren,

    Yep…you can’t change the past, but the future is another matter.
    So. Excited.

    I’m trying to go through frame by frame, as some of the images go by so quickly, I’m missing a ton of them.

  30. Cant help but hoping that, beyond the obvious two meanings of Bran’s line (teasing the fans, and the Lords having no idea about incoming Winter), there’s a third one : Bran discovering more about the lore and origins of the Walkers and realizing there’s some potentially even bigger shitstorm coming (or some stakes that we have no idea about) !

    That maybe wishful thinking but there were quite the White Walkers images in that teaser, so I hope this season will finally reveal more about them !

  31. Nice bit o’ Max ‘n’ a nice bit o’ trollin’ – bets on that line not featuring in any episode? 😀

  32. Anyone else get that Luke skywalker leaving yoda before training is finished from brans they have no idea line?

  33. DanTheMan,

    Being able to see the past and being able to change the past are two very different things. I would bet a fairly large sum of money GoT isn’t going to go all Back to the Future. I mean, a DeLorean would be soooo out of place in Westeros.

  34. I can’t listen right now. Can someone transcribe, or link me to a transcription, of the voiceover? Please? I’m begging here.

  35. Nymeria Warrior Queen:
    Wow, even with using only old footage, it’s quite interesting, at least to me, what old footage they decided to use.It, of course, leads me to wonder why they chose what they chose, especially in light of some of what we’ve learned during this off-season.

    I was thinking the same. I can hardly wait until a kind soul does a scene by scene recap of WHICH s5 scenes were selected to replay!

    Also, von Sydow’s voice gives me chills. Totally freaking awesome!

  36. Sue the Fury,

    I know it’s just a teaser as they aren’t even done with filming yet and the post-production will take a few months still. I just wanted a bit new stuff about new footage, and I know they’ll only be able to give it with the first trailer, that, if follows S5, might be out in january. Just pointed out that, unlike most people here, I’m not excited with just that teaser even if it kinda reveals that Bran knows what’s been happening – because well, we did know he would get to know sooner or later.

  37. HotPinkLipstick:
    I can’t listen right now. Can someone transcribe, or link me to a transcription, of the voiceover? Please? I’m begging here.

    Bloodraven – We watch, we listen, and we remember.
    The past is already written. The ink is dry.

    ~lots of quick-moving images from seasons past~

    Bran – They have no idea what’s going to happen.

  38. No new footage, but the voice overs still have me HYPED!

    Calling it now, Max von Sydow is gonna kill as the Three-Eyed Raven. Possibly the best casting since Dianna Rigg.

  39. That long shot of Jon Snow in the beginning…they’re teasing the shit out of us about him. He is most likely going to get resurrected. APRIL BETTER HURRY ITS ASS UP

  40. chameleon,

    In the past, Gif Maester Abyss has broken down trailers and such frame by frame. At the risk of sounding greedy or demanding, it is my hope they will do the same for this (if you have time…pretty please, Abyss!!!).

  41. I said earlier on another forum that the ending of season 5 with jon laying on the snow, it felt like something was going to happen or that there was more to that scene then they showed. but they are really teasing jon snow like mad now, i’m sure it was nothing, but they started and kind of ended the trailer with jon, maybe bran has something to do next season regarding jon snow. that’s the feeling i’m getting anyway lol

  42. I may be wrong, but in 0:25-0:26 there is a scene (season 6?) with black hooded characters breaking the gate. The second battle of Winterfell?

  43. I must say I was a bit disappointed by this teaser at first, since there’s no new picture. But the choice of pictures is interesting : Starks dying (which teases a revenge), valyrian sword followed by the Others, and I like the picture of a crow followed by Drogon (“you will fly”… a dragon?). And I’m glad to hear Max von Sydow’s voice.

    But I’m not sure it’s Bran’s voice, it sounds like Jojen’s…

  44. While all the S6 hype is being directed at Jon, it’s nice that this teaser prominently features Bran and his story after being sidelined for a year. Surprisingly, I can’t wait to find out what’s been going on with Bran and can’t wait to see how he affects the future.

  45. piotr111: I may be wrong, but in 0:25-0:26 there is a scene (season 6?) with black hooded characters breaking the gate. The second battle of Winterfell?

    No, this is the wights at Hardhome.

  46. piotr111:
    I may be wrong, but in 0:25-0:26 there is a scene (season 6?) with black hooded characters breaking the gate. The second battle of Winterfell?

    That’s the wights breaking through the gate at Hardhome.

  47. Matthew The Dragon knight,

    Yeah definitely, this trailer combined with the teaser poster, they’re really playing Jon up. They’re reminding us, keeping it fresh in our memories. Makes me think we might get Jon’s resurrection by the end of Episode 1.

  48. Tywin of the Hill: Try to put the speed at 0.25.

    Whoa, I didn’t even know you could do that. Thank you so much! I’d recommend to everyone watching it at that speed.

    Some things I caught I hadn’t caught, yet…

    Jojen dying
    LF kissing Sansa (yuck!)

    There were two times there was some kind of fire-thing happening, but I don’t know what it was…it reminds me of the opening credits, but given someone mentioned Ice being reforged, that could be it, too.

  49. How can that be called a teaser without teasing any future footage? It was a reminder/recap at best!

  50. Also, definitely 100% Brans voice, not Jojen’s in the trailer. Not only would Jojen make no sense even in the context of the teaser, the voice sounds just like Isaac Hempstead-Wright’s recent interviews. He’s just a little older after 2 years, a bit deeper voice.

  51. Notice how Bloodraven is talking about the Past while the camera focuses on Jon at the start of the teaser. I think it is hinting at the visions Bran will have about the past, and Jon in particular.
    Also, all those Stark deaths are shown because this season The North Remembers.

  52. D&D win Teh Internetz with that “they have no idea what is going to happen” line..can almost hear them snickering lol (GRRM may be right there with them too)

    …..and for someone “dead” Jon Snow has a lot of screen time there..just sayin HBO 😉

  53. That voice… I’m going to fucking die when they finally release a full trailer. I’ve never been so hyped for anything in my entire life. Just bugger me bloody.

  54. That was just fantastic – even more so for being completely unexpected. This trailer may not have any new footage, but that selection of images and Max von Sydow’s voice-over make for one hell of an evocative teaser. I’ve got chills!

    I have to say, the early marketing for Season 6 has been on point. Principal photography hasn’t even wrapped, and we’ve already seen the first poster for the new season (which set the Internet on fire) and the first teaser trailer. HBO certainly seems to have learned at least a few lessons from last year’s fiasco with The Sight. The annual dark period already feels less dark. 🙂

    Even better, this probably isn’t the last piece of promotional material for Season 6 that we’ll see before 2015 draws to a close. If HBO holds true to form, we still have their annual Year-Ender video to look forward to, which usually provides us with our first snippets of footage from the new season (it typically arrives in mid-December).

  55. Great teaser. Max von Sydow sounds perfect. Definitely hyped.

    It is kind of funny though. I can imagine the discussion in marketing, etc. that lead to this- “What if we did the Sight again but this time, not terrible?”

  56. I think I know what the scenr the line was taken from is!

    Bran experiences a particularly powerful and lifelike flashback (probably something Ned related, perhaps the Tower of Joy) and tries to interact with it and change the past (hence “they have no idea what’s going to happen”) and the Raven explains they can only watch, listen, learn “the past is already written, the ink is dry.”

    Sounds like it could be a great scene. I can’t wait to see the Bran scenes this year

  57. ok so we got a teaser promo last week, and a teaser trailer this week.
    Christmas come early ?
    ok, so if we get something else next week, maybe they are teasing us every week with something new. anyway they are doing a bloody amazing job with the marketing for season 6 so far, anyone else agree ?

  58. That shot of Jon Snow fading into light directly followed by Bran warging is certainly interesting!

    Also…Tyrion?

  59. Matthew The Dragon knight,

    Totally agree. I work in advertising, and that first poster was a master class in simple, effective marketing.

    Only 1 picture, 1 word (April), and the HBO logo…

    … and the result: internet goes batshit, trending worldwide for 24hrs.

    Can’t beat that!

  60. No new season 6 footage, but the voice overs give me chills!!! And what they say is even more chilling!!! Just happy to see something! Soooo very, very excited!!!!!

  61. You should have acted.

    They’re already here.

    The Elder Scrolls told of their return.

    Their defeat was merely a delay,

    ‘Til the time after Oblivion opened,

    When the sons of Skyrim would spill their own blood.

    But no one wanted to believe,

    Believe they even existed.

    And when the truth finally dawned,

    It dawns in fire!

  62. is it just me ? it looks like the eyes on the pommel of longclaw are glowing blue in that first image of jon snow.

  63. “They have no idea what’s going to happen.”

    Hehe….. D&D trolling fans there. 😀 But also, Bran saying that people, especially in Westeros, are clueless as to what’s coming. BR is saying that their task is to watch and remember, that they can’t change the past, no matter how sad Brans own family history. But can Bran observe and change the future?

  64. HotPinkLipstick,

    You’re very welcome! 🙂

    Just wait ’til you hear it, though. Max von Sydow’s voice-over is a master-class in bringing the words off the page!

    Matthew The Dragon knight: they are doing a bloody amazing job with the marketing for season 6 so far, anyone else agree ?

    I absolutely agree!

  65. Nymeria Warrior Queen: ~lots of quick-moving images from seasons past~

    Bran – They have no idea what’s going to happen.

    Heck…why stop at the past few years? ToJ definitely is revisited…but why not go back to the Long Night and Brandon’s namesake building the wall?

    They have no idea what’s going to happen!

  66. I have to say, as far as teasers with no new footage go, this was fucking awesome. Max Von Sydow … just … wow.

    Also Bran’s balls have dropped quite a distance. All part of becoming a greenseer.

  67. “April is the cruellest month, breeding
    Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
    Memory and desire, stirring
    Dull roots with spring rain.
    Winter kept us warm, covering
    Earth in forgetful snow…”

    This teaser made my day 😀

  68. Laura,

    I already know what you’re trying to imply but just don’t,Lady Stoneshit is still never going to be in the show ,FACT ! In fact i’m so convinced she’s not in the show that if i’m wrong, i’m willing to eat dog shit and put it on the internet for everyone to see

  69. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    Then why did Catelyn,of all the other deaths listed was the one she bolded ?

    Edit: Now that i read the whole post, i’ve seen she bolded the parts that she missed before,i apologise for my reaction .

  70. Pigeon,

    No the OUTCOMES, it’s the outcomes that we don’t know about so indeed we have no idea what’s going to happen.
    Also that line is clearly aimed towards the general audience which makes it even truer

  71. Well I got excited for nothing. It’s cool and all, but nothing new here really, those few lines seem purposely chosen to wink at the audience. Guess they’re going to portray BR as a good guy and on the side of humanity, but I don’t think that’s how it will be in the books.

  72. AH! Need moar!!11!1

    Isaac has grown up so much since season one. He was so little! I’m really glad they didn’t recast him. Can’t wait to see what they do with Bran’s story. I love the idea of greenseer powers and I always thought he would play a key role in the end because of them. So exciting. IS IT APRIL YET???

  73. Nymeria Warrior Queen:
    DanTheMan,

    Being able to see the past and being able to change the past are two very different things.I would bet a fairly large sum of money GoT isn’t going to go all Back to the Future.I mean, a DeLorean would be soooo out of place in Westeros.

    LOL….I needed that in the last hour of the work day!!

    And I must say…..Max Von Sydow is a freakin’ ROCK STAR!!! I have admired him for so many years now. He was the best Ming the Merciless and he is going to kill as the Blood Raven.

  74. I think we will get a lot more promotion this year. GOT is massive it’s going to be the same as Star Wars or Bond.

    I said we as if I’m part of it somehow lol just feel that being here on watchers we r living it daily if you know what I mean.

  75. I am pleased other people are hearing Max von Sydow’s voice and it’s not just me. I can think of a number of roles an actor of his caliber could play, but I simply cannot pin it down. Until now, frankly, I hadn’t even heard he was involved. Do people think he is stepping in as BloodRaven? What’s the word on him?

    The North Remembers…

  76. Darjan: portray BR as a good guy and on the side of humanity,

    I don’t “hear” that at all, or at least I hope not. BR is a mentor for Bran, with many dubious layers and “eyes”, and quite possibly a manipulator. I cannot wait to hear his take on the old gods and the red god, the Long Night, and especially the Targ/dragon situation. At some point though, I expect that young Bran will need to “kill the boy” and get out from under BR’s wing (or “branch” as it may be).

  77. Scott4567:
    I am pleased other people are hearing Max von Sydow’s voice and it’s not just me.I can think of a number of roles an actor of his caliber could play, but I simply cannot pin it down. Until now, frankly, I hadn’t even heard he was involved.Do people think he is stepping in as BloodRaven?What’s the word on him?

    The North Remembers…

    He most certainly is, yes.

  78. I was running a company event today and spotted this teaser notification about 30 mins before the end of the event. I waited until all the staff had left and put that bad boy up on the big screen.

    May have squeeed a bit. And done seal hands.

  79. In the beginning of the video……We watch, we listen, and we remember=greenseer & children of the Forest watching everyone and not forgetting what happened to them in the past with the first men, now it is time……the white walkers are coming and westeros has no idea what is coming for them. Brynden Rivers is the Great Other and Bran doesn’t want humanity to be wiped out. He warns key players to prepare of the BIG battle that will be coming by season 7.

  80. Now you know why re-cast took place. Max has a voice full of character and total command of presence. The only alternative would be Christopher Lee, for the same voice quality.
    Isaac’s voice has settled now. Last we heard of him, his voice was going through change. Having a year out is good on several levels.

    Great lines to deliver, and fitting for the first teaser.

  81. Has anyone thrown around the theory that the entire Jon Snow scene at the end of Season 5 is just one of Bran’s visions of the future?

  82. Is that the tree god druid dude talking to Bran???

    See, I knew Bran was going to help Jon Snow with his powers somehow… Then later on perhaps Mel resurrects him?

    Damnit, I want a trailer with new footage now lol…

  83. Laura,

    Well, there it is! Yeah, I’ve kinda been out of the loop for awhile. This is encouraging! 🙂

    The North Remembers!

  84. Do we think that Bran will be able to enter Rickon and perhaps other Starks’ dreams/visions as he and Jojen shared visions?

    Surely there’s got to be some way for him to communicate with those south of the Wall and his role won’t just be confined to seeing flashbacks to join the dots for the viewer.

    Might Jon’s trauma awake the warg inside him, like Bran’s fall did? There must have been some deliberate irony in his ignorance of wargs and his mockery of Orell’s warging powers in previous seasons, aside from the fact that his brother was one.

    Or would that seem a bit too much like a plot device? I guess it’d depend how they did it.

  85. Just the thing to get me excited for the new season! I really like that melted Ice is in there. It lends credence to the theories about Oathkeeper/Ice playing an important role at some point. Not to over analyze or anything!

  86. Laura:
    That all means absolutely nothing other than if you think there is a single family in the story as important as our Wolves, you know nothing.

    Hells yeah! A Time For Wolves indeed.

    Interesting that the first 2 teasers released are Stark-centric.

  87. Greatjon of Slumber,
    My reaction exactly! Cannot wait to see him. I also loved the D&D troll line! And prominently featured WW footage! The Baby! Ahhhh!

    4 months is just too long. We need another IMAX event!

  88. dwm:
    Kargaryen,

    You are not alone.Honestly, if those weren’t new lines, I would have shrugged this off as a fan-made trailer.And of course I have no idea what is going to happen, Bran, I haven’t seen it yet!I don’t know, it did nothing for me, may have even made me a little less excited.

    Wow. Just wow. I can’t stop laughing at this comment?

    You’re not serious are you?

  89. True…. And I think the implication here is that they can however influence the future.

    Nymeria Warrior Queen: The line is “The past is already written.The ink is dry.”To me that says one cannot change the past.

  90. Sean C.:

    The show is entering Act 2 now

    I tried to make sense of where the show is currently, but that seems to be a lost cause. Some characters seem to have finished their second act or are at least close to it (Jon, possibly Sansa and Theon), others are stuck in act two since forever (Dany) and then we have Bran, for whom the arrival at the cave seems to be just the end of act one.
    It gets worse when you try to compare storylines like the Stark vs Lannister conflict (with the Red Wedding in season three as the obvious climax, but no real progress has been made ever since) with the apparent main conflict of humans vs WW, which arguably just reached the end of act one with Hardhome. I guess that’s what you get with this kind of sprawling epic. It’s amazing that this somehow still works so well, despite being all over the place structurally.

    Bob Warren:
    So Bran can see the future, I guess we knew that was coming; but as someone once said, there wouldn’t be much point in being able to see the future unless you could also change it.

    I think he’ll be able to see how the future unfolds with everything set up like it is. So he could then try to change that setup by influencing small, but key parameters (like communicating with important characters via Weirwood Network) and then check if that changed anything.

    Arkash:

    That maybe wishful thinking but there were quite the White Walkers images in that teaser, so I hope this season will finally reveal more about them !

    It has to. Sam going to Oldtown and Bran taking White Walker 101 are set up precisely for that and the two stories I’m most excited about this season.

  91. Chance: I just hope that she doesn’t have to kill ghost to do it. Rumor has it that he will be in the scene when Jon is resurrected…”ONLY DEATH CAN PAY FOR LIFE

    Thoros revives Beric several times without sacrificing anything. I do not see why Melisandre would have do to so. Besides, we have read that Ghost (or the tennis balls subbing for him) is pretty prominent this year. I would look for something very different: Ghost will not be a sacrifice, but instead be some analog of Drogon. Jon’s link to his wolf and Daeny’s link to her dragon both might be very important when it comes to persuading people that maybe, just maybe, they should forget the usual rules and line up behind the man/woman with the ferocious thing with pointy teeth.

    Ramsay’s 20th Good Man: Do we think that Bran will be able to enter Rickon and perhaps other Starks’ dreams/visions as he and Jojen shared visions?

    I would bet on this. Bran is going to spend the rest of the series locked in a tree. However, he has to communicate with other major characters somehow. Moreover, the tree-god gun has been hung on the wall: Chekhov says: “fire that baby soon!”

    In particular, I would look to see Bran find ways to communicate to Sansa and Jon. They might not know (or accept) that it is Bran for a while – indeed, they might not even be consciously aware that Bran or anything else is influencing them at first – but Bran will be interacting with them.

    Ramsay’s 20th Good Man: Might Jon’s trauma awake the warg inside him, like Bran’s fall did?

    Yes, but I don’t think that Bran’s warging awoke because of the fall: I think that it awoke because Bran was crippled and spent more time thinking about Summer. I suspect that Jon might become more reliant on Ghost, and that the warg bond might strengthen without him trying.

    Ramsay’s 20th Good Man: Or would that seem a bit too much like a plot device? I guess it’d depend how they did it.

    Er, yes, it does seem like a plot device: but that is a good thing! Otherwise, it would be a bit random.

  92. dwm,

    Really. Do you even know what a teaser is? The show hasn’t even finished shooting for season 6 and they just put this out there to still keep the show relevant, especially in the minds of casuals. You guys complain so damn much. SMH

  93. Definately sounds like Jojen’s voice at end, not Bran’s. Makes sense that he would know about the “they have no idea whats going to happen” thing…Jojen’s the greenseer after all…

  94. I love Max Von Sydow’s voice here. Nothing new in that, I think he is the best actor alive. I can’t say enough times how happy I am to see him in the show. He will kick major butts as Bloodraven.

    I have to agree with those who say that the Marketing campaign is improving this season. This tease and the first poster are already better than all that worthless “The Sight” clips from last season.

  95. I love Max Von Sydow’s voice here. Nothing new in that, I think he is the best actor alive. I can’t say enough times how happy I am to see him in the show. He will kick major butts as Bloodraven.

    I have to agree with those who say that the Marketing campaign is improving this season. This tease and the first poster are already better than all that worthless “The Sight” clips from last season.

  96. I know Laura took upon herself to list the scenes, and counted, I’ve made a more visual presentation of the groups, oddly enough: There’s no Tyrion.. Obviously this is a Stark-focused tease, but still.. if Tyrion is not here, but Dany is, than that may be because Dany has more links to what this tease is more about: Jon and the Starks.

    North of the Wall/Wall: Jon’s tragic fight against The Whitewalkers.
    – Night’s King/Craster baby.
    – Hardhome fighting.
    – Jon sailing away from Hardhome.
    – Come at me Snow.
    – Jon stabbed.
    – Jon bleeding out.

    Bran: How Bran got to where he is.
    – Raven
    – Meera fighting skeletons
    – Dead Jojen
    – Bran warging

    Stark: Most Starks at their low points. Noticably missing is Rickon… And Benjen..
    – Ned beheaded/Arya and Yoren
    – Dead Robb
    – Dead Catelyn
    – Ice (Twice)
    – Sansa/LF: Could’ve been worse.. But this was the point where she got under LF’s thrall..
    – Arya blinded

    Lannister: At their worst points. Seeing his revenge for the 1×01-Push?
    – Jamie’s hand: His defining moment.
    – Dead Joff: The catalyst for the current phase (unhinged Cersei).
    – Shorn Cersei: Pre-WoS, her defining moment.

    Targ:
    – Dany/Drogon: Dany.. I mean come on.. and “You will fly”?
    – Harpy-statue falling: Symbolic for giving up on Meereen? Seems to me to be the least important scene in the tease.

    Darjan:
    Guess they’re going to portray BR as a good guy and on the side of humanity, but I don’t think that’s how it will be in the books.

    They might simplify a few bits of backstory concerning Bloodraven (since this is a tv-show, and not a book), but what we hear is Bloodraven giving Bran a stern scolding, to paraphrase: Bloodraven: “You fool, you cannot change the past!”, Bran: “But, but, but?! My friends!” I can’t see how you’d immediately jump to “good guy” and “on the good side of humanity”, there’s too little there. He could be manipulating Bran at that time still, like he has done he entire time (along with Jojen).

    Wilber’s Forza Danza:
    Now you know why re-cast took place. Max has a voice full of character and total command of presence. The only alternative would be Christopher Lee, for the same voice quality.

    Sadly, not an alternative anymore..

  97. First of all, OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG I CANT WAIT ANY MORE

    I haven’t read the comments, but does any one think that maybe bran could see everything happen with this magic he has?? I don’t know
    And also, I hope theyre not really teasing us with this Jon stuff. First they kill him, then they say he is dead and that’s all, now all this Jon teasing, only to not come back? I HOPE NOT. I mean from a story telling perspective, it would be stupid to kill him off completely, but im always skeptical. UGHHHHHHH
    And Wow, I cannot WAITTTTTTT for brans story.

  98. So some of this teaser/reading comments got me thinking. What are the chances that any of the proposed White Walker filming is actually flashback? Any chance Bran sees the last time they were in Westeros, why they left, and/or why the Wall was built?

  99. dragonreborn:
    Maybe Bran has something to do with Jon’s resurrection?

    Not at ALL .. here’s exactly what will happen..

    Bran will see Jon’s death, he will then see Jon’s parentage … it will be illuminated that Jon is a targaryen .. that will lead to us seeing Jon resurrected.. for the casual fan who knows nothing of these spoilers or theories, which makes up a HUGE part of the fan base… this will be an epic shocker… they aren’t pandering to the book fans or the ones who dig so hard for spoilers… lol they know the will cause a ripple with this.. and this makes perfect sense..

  100. “They have no idea what’s going to happen.”

    It’s pretty simple.

    Most astute book readers, including myself, will tell you that Bran is referring to the War for the Dawn. That is the final end game battle between The Others (White Walkers) vs. Mankind/Children of the Forrest/The prince that was promised (Azor Ahai).

  101. The way they edited the final 10 seconds of the video, I must say matches up with what an individual on 4chan said about 3 weeks ago. 4chan not a beacon of integrity, I know, but I feel it’s worth mentioning. I will tag it in case even a semblance of it turns out accurate:

    This individual said he was told there is no resurrection, everyone is completely wrong. Jon is dead, and staying so. BUT, he gets up, fights, moves, and builds a terrible and fearful reputation in the land that he is some vengeful ghost. A restless and tortured spirit. A story of legend that at night you can see the murdered Lord Commander’s ghost stalk his prey. But what they can’t see and don’t know is he is not a ghost. Not a vengeful spirit as they believe. Simply, he has been warged by Bran, and for the remainder of the story Bran controls his corpse.

    True or false, we’ll see I guess.

  102. It looks like now, after Jon is supposed to be dead and gone, he will be featured more in the promotions than he has ever been before! First the teaser poster and now this.

  103. maxoe: True or false, we’ll see I guess.

    We know that it’s false: this is not anything like that sort of story. Jon is (along with Daenerys) the most important protagonist in the series. The overall story is going to reflect more of Jon’s personal evolution than anyone else’s personal evolution save Daenerys. To that end, Jon has to be Jon: he can be changed (just as Daeny will be changed by the attempt on her life and subsequent events), but it has to be modified Jon, not some monster.

    Otherwise, M,B&W have just invested a ton of character development into a zilch return character.

  104. Lonnie: that will lead to us seeing Jon resurrected.. for the casual fan who knows nothing of these spoilers or theories, which makes up a HUGE part of the fan base

    Actually, I know several casual fans who have guessed something very similar to this from watching the show. Here is the catch: they think that Jon is Elia’s son and thus the prince that everyone thinks is dead!

    MikeB: Most astute book readers, including myself, will tell you that Bran is referring to the War for the Dawn.

    Except that Jon has heard tell of that. Quite frankly, it’s equally possible that Bran is watching Bolton hosts move towards Jon and Sansa or something much more mundane than that. (And, no, Bran’s lines need not have anything to do with BR’s lines: trailers often splice together unassociated lines for dramatic effect.)

  105. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    I have been loving this idea. I would love to see BR/Bran involved/responsible for the resurrection, if only because everyone (myself included) has been expecting Mel. I think it would be really cool to show the power of the old gods, and maybe expose the lack of Mel’s power (remember how surprised “show Mel” was at Thoros’s ability to tap in?).

    Also, just got to thinking. Perhaps Bloodraven (Lord Rivers) could see this all happening via green dreams (sorcery), long before he headed north- and maybe protecting Aemon/ the Realm from the future threat was his impetus for heading north in the first place.

  106. good tease….. I interpret this teaser as Bran seeing all key events happened John’s death being last……. and, may be resurrecting him based on the line he delivered.

  107. This teaser is geared towards the millions of casual show watchers who are unaware of the spoilers, such as the picture of Kit filming wearing Stark battle gear, the filming of the tower of joy scene and its ramifications, etc. This teaser is perfect for what it is intended to do.

    The teaser is amazing – can’t wait for April.

  108. I love the teaser and I can’t wait for April.
    It’s a collection of many important events so far in the serie.

    This part: “We watch, we listen and we remember” … Made me think of Weirwood trees. Idk, it just sounds like what a tree does.

    And also, the last image of Jon bleeding on the snow and Bran warging. They are linked imo.

  109. maxoe,

    We know that Bran is very powerful but there hasn’t been a single hint about a warg having the capacity to re-animate a corpse, leave that to the Night’s King and Qyburn. A warg needs a living entity to take over and Jon is not living at the moment and even an agonizing Jon wouldn’t do the job. I have no clear idea how they will bring him back, Jon from the books will probably procure a second life by asking Ghost for safe haven and then will procure a third life when Melisandre finally does something useful and is able to bring his body back into a living condition. This should allow Jon to be reborn without the Beric side effects because Jon’s essence would have been preserved intact in Ghost who is after all Jon made wolf. Jon from the show is most likely skipping the warging part and will be resurrected by fire in an ice castle, the two elements that make up Jon. We don’t really know what Mel asked R’hllor for before sacrificing Shireen, for all we know she asked for help for Azor Ahai and R’hllor will come through for him. I think Mel is a fool but Thoros and Moqorro have both been able to perform supernatural deeds in R’hllor’s name so the god must have some power and sooner or later Mel has to get something right. She tells us that she asked for glimpses of Azor Ahai and the flames showed her only Snow. Maybe she should have asked for glimpses of Stannis and she would have been able to see her one true King. It would fit Mel to sacrifice little Shireen for one purpose and have the sacrifice served for a completely different and unintended one.

  110. Laura,

    Didn’t one of the directors say that season 6 picks up just where 5 let off? To me that suggests opening w Jon. It would be a good, big opening scene for a show that is nearing its final climax in a year (or two).

  111. Why does it seem like Max’s words about the past being written and the ink dry (meaning unchangeable), followed by Jon dying and then Bran warging, seem to hint at Bran surprisingly having the ability to change that very same past?

    Could Jon possibly not be saved by resurrection as we all surmise but rather by a warning from a time traveling/past changing Bran, who sees it coming before Jon goes out the door? Too tin foil, perhaps?

  112. MikeB,

    I agree that he could be referring to the war of dawn for book readers but at the same time it also allows for the casual viewers to refer to the threat of the White walkers.

    On another note, is it just me or does BR sound like a fatherly mentor figure such as Gandalf or Dumbledore? That could either mean another blow to some people who think he might be a rather darker figure or it could be lulling Bran and audience into thinking he is a nice guy. I guess we will see eventually.

  113. Holy crap somebody abovr got it right. Freaking jon is truly dead but bran will warg his body. Damn if i didnt love jon so much that woukd be cool.

  114. Holy shisnitz, it looks like Jon could really be dead. And Bran wargs into his body. If I didnt love Jon so much that WOULD be cool and twist I never though of…but alas I’m not happy if we’ve seen the last of the Lord commander. So does this mean Bran is the real Azor Ahai? Eh, boring.

    I made previous comment but it’s awaiting moderation and that’s prob because I was typing on my phone’s little keypad and a period somehow got in front of my username lol.

  115. JCDavis: Max Von Sydow is a freakin’ ROCK STAR!!! I have admired him for so many years now. He was the best Ming the Merciless

    I find it very amusing that some folks would associate Max von Sydow more with a Flash Gordon remake than with all those classic Ingmar Bergmann films. Guess it’s a generational thing.

  116. maxoe:

    Jon is dead, and staying so. BUT, he gets up, fights, moves, and builds a terrible and fearful reputation in the land that he is some vengeful ghost. A restless and tortured spirit. A story of legend that at night you can see the murdered Lord Commander’s ghost stalk his prey. But what they can’t see and don’t know is he is not a ghost. Not a vengeful spirit as they believe. Simply, he has been warged by Bran, and for the remainder of the story Bran controls his corpse.

    If this were so, why would they bother with the Tower of Joy and establishing R + L = J? Makes no sense.

  117. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    What the hell, I need to make sure I don’t forget how to do it, right? Here you go! 🙂 Hit Esc or click the “Close & view on gfycat.com” link and view the album from there, much better interface. Not sure if I will upload that way again… it saves me all the linking, but I the album interface in general isn’t very good imo…

  118. Bran can’t just warg into a dead body, that’s not how wargging works. From the books it’s like taking over someone’s consciousness and pushing their consciousness to the back as you kind if take over.

    This isn’t possible with a dead host, the host has to be alive for Bran to be able to warg.

  119. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…the short hairs on my ballsack are standing up in attention and anticipation, while the long ones braided themselves out of sheer excitement!

    Can’t wait for Season Six to arrive!!!! Ahh to be untainted by the burden of knowledge, unless GRRM releases the “Winds Of Winter” beforehand and I have to frantically read before the new season starts!!!

  120. Any teaser breakdowns with shot by shot screen grabs?! That would be great. Looking but haven’t found.

  121. Arthur:
    Bran can’t just warg into a dead body, that’s not how wargging works.From the books it’s like taking over someone’s consciousness and pushing their consciousness to the back as you kind if take over.

    This isn’t possible with a dead host, the host has to be alive for Bran to be able to warg.

    Yeah, that was my thought. It’s not a terrible idea to have Bran warg into Jon, but it essentially makes Jon Snow a puppet. How much fun is that? And, as you said, its never been established that Bran can warg into a dead body, so it feels like a cheat (unless they’re going to reveal he didn’t fully die at the end).

  122. Laura,

    Thank you for that. I do like those kinds of stats. Don’t think anything of it, but I’ll re-watch with those in mind now… maybe there’s something to it, but thanks again. 🙂

  123. I’m hyped beyond belive!!!

    Can’t wait too see Max von Sidow. Can’t wait for full trailer!

    My guess is that Bran sees something from the past, like the RW for example, and then Bloodraven says ”the past is already written…”

    Bran’s line can mean many things. He either sees the past, again possibly the RW, and means his family, or this is a vision of the future and he means Westeros.

  124. Heh, 2,5 Mill views in what, 12-14 houres? Because this wasn’t last night when I went too sleep.

    The hype is real it apears. 🙂

  125. maxoe,

    It’s 4chan. Not exactly reliable source as you said. Death should change him significantly, because it’s necesarry, but this is a bit of a extreme. Daeny dreamt about some lover with an ice manhood. Don’t know if Bran can or ever will warg in to a dead body.Then don’t know why is Mel at CB, why they bother with R+L=J and basically it would reduce Jon to being a puppet.

  126. And what if Bran is actually seeing the future before the words “They have no idea what’s going to happen. As in the future of all the events that we see rehashed on the teaser. But if the flashes are all things future for Bran, how come it shows stuff that’s already happened before he would have acquired the foresight, like Joffrey’s death, if this is like a flashback to Bran’s visions during the time we didn’t see him last season how come some of the stuff still played out without him trying to intervene somehow? If he knew Jon was gonna die wouldn’t he have got warning to him? Or maybe he’s forbidden from doing that for some reason so he just gets prepared to warg into Jon when the time comes. If he can’t warg a dead body perhaps he got into Jon before the life fully left his body. But then what? A big (only) clue that I got from this little teaser is the fact Jon’s seemingly dead body is highlighted while Bran is doing the warg-eye thing. That seems obvious unless they trying to throw us off.

  127. Didn’t expect this at all ..I was expecting a poster ..but i liked this.

    Reading after the comments I don’t know why people assume that he will be Changing future but not the past. .

    I think the key word in this trailer is what Bloodraven says “we watch we listen and we remember”…
    I sort of feel like this is what brans role is. ..to give us insights into the past and things we don’t know … He is sort of like the keepers of the secret…

    If they can’t change the past they certainly can’t change future ….after all today’s past is once was future right …if blood raven could have stopped bran climbing that tower he could have but he simply let him. .

    They can always influence people and events. .like say that the direwolves are sent by BR or making Jon LC using the raven. ..

    But the characters have to make their choices by themselves. That’s why I think this theory like jon will be dead and bran warging him and fighting Are stupid…
    Because the two primary main protagonists of this story Jon and dany and then comes the second tier main characters arya bran and tyriin and sansa.
    So whatever the story is with bran he won’t be having a bigger role than Jon or dany

  128. It’s crazy the number of people who feel that Bran is warging into Jon’s body, based on this clip even on Reddit etc. That’s not happening! And what would happen to Jon’s body when Bran wargs out of it. Or is Bran supposed to stay in his body forever. That does not make any sense. But it could be that Bran will play a part in Jon’s resurrection.
    Hope Sue will put an end to this.

  129. Ravyn,

    Yes, BUT, it kinda sucked that he killed Ned Stark too, but it still made the story better. GRRM wants you to expect something, and then have the story go in a completely different direction. This is horrible enough for Martin, and would probably make a the story better. And, perhaps Jon Snow has a twin sister, in which case the Lyanna+Rhaeger story would still make sense.

  130. To me the last two scenes confirm my previous speculation in another thread that season 6 will open with Jon bleeding out then his eyes go white as he wargs into Ghost. I’m convinced that that is what will happen in the books and also in the show. I know that a lot of you don’t think this will happen because the show hasn’t hinted at Jon being a warg, but I’m not buying that argument.

  131. The warging plot could work, if Bran manages to warg into Jon Snow while he is bleeding out, and not dead yet.

    Perhaps this is exactly what Bloodraven has been doing with Benjen in the shape of Coldhands.

  132. Not sure if this is worth mentioning, but what the hell. Looking at Abyss’s gifs – thank you as always for your efforts! – when we see the clip of Jaime losing his hand there’s a very quick flash of the scene with a black and white photo negative type effect, which I’m pretty sure wasn’t in the show itself? It doesn’t look like that effect appears with any of the other clips. I took a screen shot of it (here) in case anyone missed it because it goes by really fast. I assume this means Bran, or someone else with second sight type powers, is seeing this?

  133. We watch.
    We listen.
    And we remember.

    I am so on the hype train right now!

    Very excited to hear Bran again!

  134. ghost of winterfell,

    You don’t need sources to know that theory doesn’t make sense.

    We already know Jon’s walking around, and dealing with people and fighting skillfully in ways Bran would have no knowledge of, in season 6. And the odds of tree-newbie Bran being able to warg a corpse are nonexistent. And there’s no reason we’d be getting ToJ if the baby born there was just a corpse now. Oh and Jon would just drop where he was every time Bran vacated his body and be like a corpse again. That’s ignoring the fact that his corpse should be rotting by then anyway.

    This is just another one of those theory/rumors people get interested in suddenly. It doesn’t make sense but people will believe it anyway because they don’t think it through.

  135. It’s strange that they show Ned’s and Rob’s deaths but not Cat’s if they wanted to make a point about the Starks who died. And I am tempted…

  136. Sue the Fury:
    ghost of winterfell,

    You don’t need sources to know that theory doesn’t make sense.

    This is just another one of those theory/rumors people get interested in suddenly. It doesn’t make sense but people will believe it anyway because they don’t think it through.

    Finally, the voice of reason. I had to put the tinfoil hat on for my own protection while reading some of the suggestions (I don’t even consider them theories). Peeps, think before you type. Honestly, warging into a corpse????

  137. Sister Kisser: I would love to see BR/Bran involved/responsible for the resurrection, if only because everyone (myself included) has been expecting Mel. I think it would be really cool to show the power of the old gods, and maybe expose the lack of Mel’s power (remember how surprised “show Mel” was at Thoros’s ability to tap in?).

    Again, it’s too late for that. Guns fired late have to be hung early: and nowhere in either the books or the show have they given any indication that the Old Gods can do this sort of stuff. On the other hand, the “R’hllor can revive people from death” gun has been well-hung.

    The Old Gods really are not gods. They are people (humans or Children) with warging ability that basically are getting a huge boost from the weirwoods. In a way, they are just sentient trees created by a warg-tree symbiosis of sorts. They can whisper to people through trees, but they seem to be even more vague in what they communicate than are R’hllor’s images. They can see what the trees have beheld, and thus see the past: but they cannot time travel.

    Now, this is not nothing: information is power, and someone connected to a weirwood tree would have a lot of information at hand. In some ways, they have “miraculous” abilities there. And in real wars, information like that would be invaluable. However, there is a flip-side: they do not have easy means of communicating what they know!

    Ygritte: And what if Bran is actually seeing the future before the words “They have no idea what’s going to happen.

    It’s just as possible that he is seeing the present. A pro-Napoleon Greenseer in a weirwood tree might easily fret that the French have no idea what is coming as that Greenseer watches a shepherd guide Prussian troops to Waterloo. GRRM goes for the “mundane” (i.e., the realistic) before he goes for the “epic” (i.e., the fantastic). Bran needs to start actively (re)engaging with the other primary protagonists soon. That does not mean that this is what is happening now: but this does have to start sometime, whereas the (overly) fantastic does not.

    On a flip-side, I wonder how much the “weirnet” has been influenced by the Internet since the stories inception(s). When GRRM first started pitching this, the Internet was a sparse place occupied mostly by academics. Now its this.

  138. Bran’s obviously not going to warg into Jon, for reasons stated above. Now what I would love to see: Bran sees Jon’s death as it happens with the sight, wargs into Wun Wun in a rage, and starts murdersquishing the traitors.

  139. Wall Builder: I’m convinced that that is what will happen in the books and also in the show. I know that a lot of you don’t think this will happen because the show hasn’t hinted at Jon being a warg, but I’m not buying that argument.

    Then buy this one:

    the books make it clear that only experienced wargs know how to jump into a “second life.” Jon is not an experienced warg. Moreover, the books make it clear that after a warg jumps into a second life, he/she rapidly fades into that animal, and is essentially lost.

    Here is another way to look at it. The Prologue for Dragons is not putting a gun on the wall for Jon. Quite the opposite: it took one off. What the prologue does is set up what separates a “mere” warg from a greenseer. It’s about Bran, not Jon!

  140. jentario,

    OK yes this. When watching it from that point of view it’s enlightening. I’m thinking in particular the TOJ vision where Bran finds out Jon’s true identity would be a bitter pill to swallow. Knowing then that if his father had chosen a different side and come forward with the rightful heir none of the other stuff would have happened. Robert wouldn’t be King, Ned and Sansa wouldn’t have gone to King’s landing, Robb wouldn’t need to start a war, Arya wouldn’t turn to the dark side, Jon would never have been at castle black obviously and so on. That leads me to think there is something hidden from the past we haven’t figured out yet because all Ned did was keep a promise to his sister. There’d have to be something that Ned did which was dishonorable that Bran would wish he could go back and warn his father of the consequences.

    I know the show drives home that he was the most honorable man. Maybe it’s to set up a twist at the end? What if just one time, a time that mattered a lot (though he couldn’t know it a the time) he wasn’t.

  141. Ygritte: I know the show drives home that he was the most honorable man. Maybe it’s to set up a twist at the end? What if just one time, a time that mattered a lot (though he couldn’t know it a the time) he wasn’t.

    I think that it is far simpler than that. Ned had a choice between two dishonorable actions: lying (or at least dissembling) about his family members, or endangering the life of a child and possibly the futures of his own as-yet-unborn children. (Remember, “honor” is considered heritable in these sorts of societies.) That made both honorable acts dishonorable. Ned had to choose the greater honor, but live with the dishonor.

    What we should expect is for Jon to be influenced by this. He probably will again be faced with Honor A + Dishonor B vs. Dishonor A + Honor B, and he will have to decide which adds up to the most. However, being raised by Ned Stark, it will always haunt Jon that he could not have found an Honor A + Honor B solution, even though the two are mutually exclusive.

  142. I think that it’s pretty funny that, as some people noticed upthread, we DO know what’s going to happen. The close of Act 2 – putting away some outstanding threads: Meereen, the Dothraki, the Boltons, Braavos, the Wall. Maybe the Tyrells, too…

    How many plot threads are going to remain after this season? Jon, Sansa+LF, Arya, Dany+Tyrion, Jaime+Brienne, Euron+Sam, Dorne, Cersei? Give or take one. That’s few.

  143. Bergey: Bran sees Jon’s death as it happens with the sight, wargs into Wun Wun in a rage, and starts murdersquishing the traitors.

    Besides the evidence that the traitors are alive and well for at least some time afterwards, there is also story to consider. The Nationalists cannot be “punished” immediately: if they kill (or attempt to kill) Jon and then are immediately killed, then it’s just a gratuitous and arbitrary “shock” effect. Instead, it has to set up problems for Jon and other protagonists down the road.

    If MB&W are telling the story well, then the Nationalist segment of the Night’s Watch will create problems and dilemmas for Jon in the Winter story. This should be analogous to Daeny’s issues with slavers and Dothraki, or Arya’s issues with the Faceless Men. It is too early still for MB&W to start making life “easy” on the main characters!

  144. Ygritte,

    Ned would have had no real choice but to take Jon as his son and try to hide his identity.

    If he’d revealed Jon’s true parentage Robert would have wanted him killed. The show made that pretty clear in Season 1 with Robert’s insistence on wiping every Targaryen from the face of the planet.

    It was a choice between taking Jon as his own son and protecting him, or risking Jon’s life and going to war with Robert. Ned could have died and none of the events you mentioned would have occurred because Robert would have had Ned’s head on a spike at King’s Landing instead of Joffrey.

    Bran knows his history. He’ll know that Ned made the right decision. The bitterest pill will be realising that Jon is not actually his brother, despite how close they were.

  145. Yaga,

    Interesting. At the start of this season, we’ll have, if I remember correctly, this plotlines: Bran, The Wall, Jon and the war in the north, Sansa and whatever the hell she is doing, King’s Landing, Sam’s travels, Dorne, Iron Islands, Riverlands, Tyrion in Meereen, Arya, Jorah and Daario travels, Dany with the Dothrakis. That’s 13.

    Of course, by the end of the season, some of this plotlines will merge, and some will just cease to exist. So for Season 7, I see: Bran, Jon and the WW invasion, Sansa, Sam and Euron in Oldtown, Tyrion and Dany back in Westeros, Jaime, Arya and King’s Landing. That’s 8. And probably will be around 4-5 storylines by Season 8. The world will contract, and every storyline will start to focus on the common threat: the WW.

  146. Direwolf Luvr,

    I thought the same thing. Bran is just discovering his skill so all the events that have already occurred (that went by in rapid fire succession in the teaser) he cannot change. But the Jon Snow scene at the end goes much slower and there is a definite translation from that scene to Bran. It’s not a bad theory that Bran is seeing Jon’s future and could potentially warn him before the act occurs.

  147. Firannion: I find it very amusing that some folks would associate Max von Sydow more with a Flash Gordon remake than with all those classic Ingmar Bergmann films. Guess it’s a generational thing.

    Are you…. *pffffft* callin’ me old? Eh? *shuffles feet* Well, you might be right then. I have seen many of his works and love them all, but he is just delicious as Ming. It is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of him and funny enough the second is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close which is a very recent movie, he rocked that too. I liked him as the older professor in Awakenings and of course he is a wonderful Jesus Christ in The Greatest Story Ever Told. So my tastes run all over, but mostly? I still say…

    Max von Sydow is a ROCK GOD, a LEGEND and my HERO. I can’t wait to see him in GoT’s.

  148. Davos’ Luck,
    Oh, I forgot about Bran. You forgot about Dorne. And we both forgot about Theon and Yara. ?

    I kind of hope that the rumours about Theon and Yara escaping to Volantis are true. That would mean they would merge with Dany’s camp. Dany would get an awesome ladyfriend and collect the third eunuch in the story, after Grey Worm and Varys (Does she get a special attack for that?). More to the point, she would also get the know-how to go against Euron (and collect, in turn, Sam). And Dany vs. Euron would be awesome while Cersei destroys Dorne and Arya, presumably, the Freys.

  149. maxoe,

    *claps slowly* Look at you, bravo. You think to use a seemingly intelligent rebuttal to have a chance to take a go at Sue on this site? You could have just politely said, “sure, I’ll do that”. Instead you made yourself look like a first class clown.

    So, thanks for playing, here’s your hat, there’s the door…don’t let it hit you where the good Lord split you.

  150. Great teaser (and series recap). For some reason, the line “The ink is dry” freaks me out a bit. 🙂

    JCDavis:

    Max von Sydow is a ROCK GOD, a LEGEND and my HERO. I can’t wait to see him in GoT’s.

    Max von Sydow also has a brief role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens too.

  151. Yaga,

    That reminds me: one of the biggest question for this season is what will happen with the Iron Born after the Kingsmoot. Where will Euron go? Where will Theon and Yara/Asha go? I see Euron going to The Reach, like in the books, but what if he goes to Meereen, taking over Victarion’s ADWD role? It would be fun to see Theon and Yara joining Dany in Volantis and then figthting Crow’s Eye in Season 7. We’ll see… The amazing thing about both the books and show is the endless possibilities. It’s really fun to speculate and read theories.

  152. Tracy: It’s not a bad theory that Bran is seeing Jon’s future and could potentially warn him before the act occurs

    The problem with this idea is that in both show and books, Greenseer “sight” is very metaphorical, even more so than visions granted by R’hllor. So, if Bran gleans a danger, then it will be a very general image (e.g., a flood of Winterfell representing the Iron Born taking it over): Bran will know that something bad is going to happen, but any number of explanations would apply.

    If Bran is getting “exact” images, then it is stuff that something has witnessed, and thus in the past (if only in the very immediate past). This still could pertain to someone’s future: if, for example, Bran sees that a Bolton army or a Wight army is bearing down on Jon, then he would be seeing Jon’s probable future in the same way that looking at a weather map tells you tomorrow’s probable future.

    Davos’ Luck: The world will contract, and every storyline will start to focus on the common threat: the WW.

    And R’hllor. And the Old Gods. And all of the other things that have been messing with humans. This is not “good vs. evil”: this is “Bad Choice A vs. Bad Choice B.”

    Indeed, a big part of the plotline (and perhaps storylines) will almost have to be the protagonists accepting and then getting other people to accept these threats. Nobody believes that White Walkers still exist. Few people take R’hllor or the Old Gods seriously. Yet all of them have been treating humans as chattel in one way or another for a while: the “why” of that is going to be extremely important, and the “how to accommodate the maximum number of beings” almost certainly will be the big question. (MB&W certainly have invested a lot of time in that issue!)

  153. Davos’ Luck,
    Well, I think that Euron will almost certainly be Dany’s antagonist either way (whether she joins up with Yara/Theon or not). Her storyline has so far lacked a strong bad guy. He’s expressed interest in the dragons in the books. Also in the books, he’s allied with the warlocks. If he has Sam, then the life of a character for whom we care will be at stake (not to mention the knowledge he has). And, importantly, something has to delay Dany enough to give Cersei a chance to destroy King’s Landing and/or die to Jaime, and that can’t happen earlier than the S7 finale! (If not S8 altogether…)

    Wimsey,
    True, that, about the gods. ASOIAF is JRPG as hell (can’t even count how many gods, false gods and churches I have destroyed in the final acts of these games….).

  154. Someone should make a video with shots of Bran and the dragons, and add the voice of Max von Sydow from Skyrim when he talks about the return of the dragons and the threat they represent 😀

  155. My question is…. Where is Stannis death scene in the teaser? If he is truly dead , why not show him dead with robb and the rest…stannis was a major character of a major house. Or at least brienne swinging at stannis???

    Maybe i missed it somewhere …i might be wrong..

  156. Wimsey: Few people take R’hllor or the Old Gods seriously. Yet all of them have been treating humans as chattel in one way or another for a while: the “why” of that is going to be extremely important…

    Martin’s world is “agnostic.” There’s magic, but we won’t find out if gods are involved in the magic. That leaves the humanoid followers of these possibly fictional beings. Mel, Children, greenseers already know about the Others, so at least they won’t need to be convinced. Their motives are, ita, unclear, and I hope GRRM explains along the way.

    The Westerosi humans are another story. ita much of the plot will be getting them to realize that something wicked their way comes.

  157. Wimsey,

    I suppose you are right here, on many accounts- especially the “well hung” gun of Rhollor and Mel’s relationship/purpose, and the kiss of life as it may apply to Jon (Happiness is a warm gun?)

    I am in no way supporting the idea that Bran will warg into Jon, but I would like to see Bran/BR, the children, “assist” somehow in his resurrection. It seems like the accepted dichotomy of divine power in this universe are the binaries R’hollor and the WW’s. Where do the Old Gods fit in? Given the Starks, and indeed, most of the north, still pray to them- I would be inclined to believe that they are in league with the Starks, the first men, and the interest in life/humanity, over Death and the WW’s. Maybe Jon’s resurrection will demand the influence of both R’hollor as well as Bran/BR, given the duality of his bloodline.

    One point of contention I have is your characterization of the Old Gods, as seemingly only passive watchers of Westeros; record keepers if you will. Information, as powerful as it is- is useless without action. Okay, so the green seers can “whisper” through the trees. Theon’s realization that he is forgiven, even if he were to pass it off as madness, could still be a catalyst for him to act. But this may not be enough. If the Weirnet Web/Greenseers role in Westeros is simply to keep record, pass whispers, and never actually get involved- where will Bran’s well hung warging gun come into play? One must assume that he will get back to his warging ways at some point, after a stint learning the deeper powers of Greensight. This makes me think he will at some point, be “active” rather than merely “passive” when the time comes. He may even “fly”!

    Also- Lord Bloodraven was said to use glamours. As was the woman he loved- (can’t recall her name). They engaged in some magic that seems more in line with the blood magic we know R’hollor appreciates. Is it possible that he brought some element of this over to his gig north of the wall?

  158. Maria: There’s magic, but we won’t find out if gods are involved in the magic. That leaves the humanoid followers of these possibly fictional beings. Mel, Children, greenseers already know about the Others, so at least they won’t need to be convinced.

    But that is already untrue: we know that this R’hllor thing is responsible for magic, visions, etc., and that it is directing people to fight the Others, support some “promised one,” etc. And we also know some stuff about the Walkers and the Old Gods.

    Ultimately, I think it very possible that whatever R’hllor is, it stems from (or dates back to) whatever agreement was reached between the Walkers, the human races, etc. Where this might be relevant is that we might learn what that agreement was, if only to understand the Walkers motives and what happened to alter (or break) that agreement. The one other thing that might tie to this and that could be very important is R’hllorites viewing the world not so much as “with us or against us” but “us and against us.” Melissandre views the Old Gods as demons in league with the Walkers. Other members of her church state that other gods are either false or demons in league with the Other. This is curious: shouldn’t someone that hates the Walkers this much understand that the Children and the Old Gods also are opposed to the Walkers? One explanation is that R’hllor is someone/thing that got screwed by all parties in the final agreement years and years ago: and it wants payback.

    Jon, Daeny, etc., are going to need to understand and accommodate these things before all is said and done. Truth is a three-edged sword, after all: your side, their side and the actual truth.

  159. I feel sorry for any poor sap who hasn’t seen GOT and decides to watch that trailer, they literally spoiled most of the major beats from all five season.

    Don’t understand why HBO are suddenly going all heavy on Jon Snow for the marketing, it’s like they want to telegraph his resurrection.

    Max Von Sydow’s voice over was great though, all ten episodes should just be him reading excerpts from ASOIF.

  160. Late just repeating what others said but what an amazing voiceover!

    Lulus Mum,

    Nice catch Lulu’s Mom!!!! Good eyesight too (maybe you’re a greenseer yourself lol)

    It would be interesting if it is Bran who sees this. Most of the flashes as far as I could see are of Starks which makes sense it it is Bran who’s browsing the net. I think someone upthread put a no of flashes per Westeros big house that confirms Starks are the majority in the reel. So maybe he watches to see what happened to the man that threw him out of the window. The rest is probably him looking for his family, for learning about the enemy and how they multiply themselves (WW) and TPTWP that would save them from the WW threat (Dany and her dragons). Or it could just be a montage of “the best of GOT” :p

  161. Hightower: Perhaps this is exactly what Bloodraven has been doing with Benjen in the shape of Coldhands.

    The CotF (Leaf?) mentioned to Bran in passing that Coldhands “died long ago”….

    But that does bring up a decent point about who CH serves, and if he did die, did Bloodraven raise him from the dead? That implies that BR may be capable of using old god AND red god powers. Or it may simply imply that resurrection is “agnostic.” I think that CH was a member of BR’s ranging party who died when they went missing (which led to BR becoming aligned with the CotF and the weirnet) during Aegon V’s (Egg) reign, around 252 AC.

    Or maybe CH is a WW gone rogue (with a dissenting opinion)?

    maxoe,
    From my perspective, what the 4chan folk have described is simply the CH story.

    Sister Kisser: Also- Lord Bloodraven was said to use glamours. As was the woman he loved- (can’t recall her name). They engaged in some magic that seems more in line with the blood magic we know R’hllor appreciates.

    The woman was the last of the Great Bastards, Shiera Seastar. Although I can’t confirm any “magic” involved, she was very close with both BR (who did dabble in the dark arts) and his Bastard brother, Bittersteel, whose jealousy/hatred for one another led to many bloody skirmishes. Ms. Seastar has been MIA since BR was sentenced to serve the NW… 🙂

  162. miss:
    Jon is everywhere for a character supposedly died of death that will never return …

    Guys, he’s fine, he fell under a dumpster while he was being stabbed…

  163. Stark Loyalist:
    My question is…. Where is Stannis death scene in the teaser? If he is truly dead , why not show him dead with robb and the rest…stannis was a major character of a major house. Or at least brienne swinging at stannis???

    Maybe i missed it somewhere …i might be wrong..

  164. Wimsey,
    Oh, this one, in particular, is Final Fantasy XII. Great game.

    Stark Loyalist,
    I think it’s because Stannis dying was the closure of -his- arc, but did not particularly emotionally influence any of the remaining players.

  165. “They have no idea what’s going to happen.” and after watching that, we still don’t. My goodness was that underwhelming

  166. Anyone else wondering why BR and the CofTF actually need Bran? So far he hasn’t been shown to have any powers that are different than BR’s. He has to have some purpose other than just watching past or future events. So I had this thought after watching the teaser. Maybe BR is saying that he and the CofTF can only watch and remember, and have no ability to change the past. But perhaps they need Bran because he actually can change the past? Maybe that’s his purpose in all of this? Just a thought.

  167. Yaga,

    “Special attack for 3 eunuchs…” bwaahaaahaa
    Final Fantasy XII was a great plot, not a great game… when it wasn’t busy being Star Wars with a sexy rabbit Chewbacca

  168. JCDavis: Are you…. *pffffft* callin’ me old? Eh?

    No, you silly person, I’m calling you young! All the roles you cite – heck, even The Exorcist – to my mind are ‘late-period von Sydow.’ To me he will always be, as someone else mentioned in another thread, the guy who played chess with Death in The Seventh Seal.

  169. Lisa0527: Anyone else wondering why BR and the CofTF actually need Bran?

    IIRC in the books Bloodraven is barely still alive (he’s something like 150 years old, after all) and it’s time for someone else to take over the griot post while he’s still able to pass on his knowledge. Someone suggested upthread that Bran will kill him once he knows his true agenda, but I don’t see why that would be necessary. BR will train Bran and then fall apart and join the bonepile.

  170. Firannion: No, you silly person, I’m calling you young! All the roles you cite – heck, even The Exorcist – to my mind are ‘late-period von Sydow.’ To me he will always be, as someone else mentioned in another thread, the guy who played chess with Death in The Seventh Seal.

    I like silly sometimes. But that doesn’t change the fact that I think the first time I recall MvS was in 65 in The Greatest Story Ever told, I was all of 12 years old at the time. But I do remember him. I recall The Diary of Anne Frank a few years after that because I wrote my English final on it….so I was early teens I would suspect. Flash Gordon wan’t until like 1980 or so. By that time I had already had children, moved to San Francisco and got my degree. So I have known of his works for at least 5 decades. I just think we watched different movies, same time frame for many, like the Exorcist as you brought up. I looked at his Wiki and prior to ’65 I don’t recall those movies and probably it is because of MAYBE being in the US? Are you from the US?

    I have to say that to remember much now that I am in my 6th decade is a supreme miracle….swiss cheese brain!!

  171. Ramsay’s 20th Good Man: Bran knows his history. He’ll know that Ned made the right decision. The bitterest pill will be realising that Jon is not actually his brother, despite how close they were.

    Ya think? First cousins don’t seem to me that much more distant than half-brothers. I doubt that Bran would feel crushed by that distinction.

  172. I honestly believe that lady stoneheart will have to be in the show for the simple reason i believe Bran will ask her to give the life to revive jon snow closing the circle for which jon took the black and ultimately died. Nobody else could play that role.
    And I’m not sure Rlorr revived cat… it was an offer of a life for another one as dany did for her dragond (her son, drogon and mirri)

  173. Lisa0527: Maybe BR is saying that he and the CofTF can only watch and remember, and have no ability to change the past.

    I’ll be quite skeptical that the past can be changed by any means…but understanding the past is what matters.

    Bran is a Stark and if Bloodraven has observed some critical past events (including ToJ) and realized that the Starks have been instrumental in historic events in the north (including interacting with WWs, CotF and wildlings), I believe he would have set things in motion to get Bran and Co to him. Perhaps BR has anticipated the complete obliteration of Stark and Targ blood from Planetos and is trying to preserve and empower the lineage. It is a win-win for him and his possibly shifty agenda to have Bran, who is essentially his politically-correct protege, in his corner, especially since magic has returned to the world with a vengeance. Plus, BR should know who Jon is, so Jon’s value is important on many levels for BR.

    (Also note that the Starks bent the knee to the Targs in the past…so I believe there is a deep-rooted connection between what BR has envisioned for Bran/Jon and the ultimate legacy of the song of Ice and Fire)

    My hope is that while Mel initiates her resurrection spells, Bran/BR plant the seeds of understanding and vision into Jon’s mind as he dwells in limboland. The power of the old gods and red god will be intertwined in Jon 2.0….but he will still have to face and accept his role and destiny (and the skeptical reactions of many, I assume). Will Mel and Bran serve as Jon 2.0’s proxy to the gods? 🙂

  174. Wimsey: Melissandre views the Old Gods as demons in league with the Walkers. Other members of her church state that other gods are either false or demons in league with the Other. This is curious: shouldn’t someone that hates the Walkers this much understand that the Children and the Old Gods also are opposed to the Walkers? One explanation is that R’hllor is someone/thing that got screwed by all parties in the final agreement years and years ago: and it wants payback.

    Another explanation, which has nothing to do with Children-Other pact, is that the religion of R’hllor is Martin’s Manichean take on monotheistic religions like Christianity, which used to see other gods as either false gods, or “demons.” This is what happens if you believe that your god is the only true, good god. All other gods are by default false, or, worse, demons, serving the “Other” god, the god of darkness and ice.

  175. Firannion,

    I didn’t say it’d be a particularly bitter pill.

    I just meant to imply that the only possible downside of what Bran learned from observing the Tower of Joy, however minor, would be that Jon is not his brother.

  176. Lisa0527,

    I tend to think Bloodraven is ultimately an untrustworthy ally. I mean, he is a

    former Master of Whisperers who was exiled to the Wall for kinslaying under a banner of truce. He loved Shiera Seastar who was rumored to use blood magic to extend her life. He’s been extending his life unnaturally by tethering himself to the weirwood. We know that skinchangers can have a second life in the body of another creature. This all leads me to suspect his interaction with Bran has been leading towards a single nefarious purpose… to enter his mind, seize control of him, and live a second life in Bran’s body.
  177. BlackBloc: Guys, he’s fine, he fell under a dumpster while he was being stabbed…

    LMAO! If only Oberyn had that magical dumpster at his disposal 🙁

  178. Wimsey: But that is already untrue: we know that this R’hllor thing is responsible for magic, visions, etc., and that it is directing people to fight the Others, support some “promised one,” etc.And we also know some stuff about the Walkers and the Old Gods.

    We don’t really know that, though. Martin leaves the issue of whether there’s a guiding intelligence behind the raw magic up in the air; he’s said he prefers to leave whether any of the gods actually exist open to interpretation.

    The one other thing that might tie to this and that could be very important is R’hllorites viewing the world not so much as “with us or against us” but “us and against us.”Melissandre views the Old Gods as demons in league with the Walkers.Other members of her church state that other gods are either false or demons in league with the Other.This is curious: shouldn’t someone that hates the Walkers this much understand that the Children and the Old Gods also are opposed to the Walkers?One explanation is that R’hllor is someone/thing that got screwed by all parties in the final agreement years and years ago: and it wants payback.

    The faith of R’hllor is a monotheistic religion which GRRM has said is based mainly on Zoroastrianism. It’s not unusual that such religions regard all other gods as demons.

  179. JCDavis: I was all of 12 years old at the time.

    JCDavis: Are you from the US?

    In that case, I owe you an apology, as we are EXACTLY the same age. And yes, I grew up in the US. I didn’t actually watch Bergmann films until my college years and afterwards, though.

    Silliness is a good thing, of course – I would even say essential to keeping one’s sanity!

  180. JCDavis: *whimpers*I’m so confused.

    Sorry. Had to switch devices because my tablet wasn’t saving my edits after I hit the wrong button and posted only your quotes. It’s a confusing world, this Weirnet.

  181. Ramsay’s 20th Good Man:
    Firannion,

    I didn’t say it’d be a particularly bitter pill.

    I just meant to imply that the only possible downside of what Bran learned from observing the Tower of Joy, however minor, would be that Jon is not his brother.

    OK, now I gotcha.

  182. Laura:
    Ok, so this is what I saw, I may have missed some things:

    – Jon sailing away from Hardhome
    – Jon stabbed
    – Ned beheaded/Arya and Yoren
    – Arya blinded
    – Meera fighting skeletons
    – Ice?
    – Dead Joff
    – Dead Robb
    – Jamie’s hand
    – Raven
    – Dany/Drogon
    – Night’s King/Craster baby
    – Dead Jojen
    – Hardhome fighting
    – Shorn Cersei (I can’t place it – could be new maybe??)
    – Sansa/LF
    – Come at me Snow
    – Jon bleeding out
    – Bran warging
    – Fin

    Cat getting her throat slit.

  183. I posted most of this on the Game of Owns thread:

    My take on the dialogue is that Bran has been allowed to see these things for the first time and is overwhelmed to the point of losing his mind over the ferocity of the events that have befallen his family. Hence, the urgency in the Bloodraven’s elegant, beautiful voice explaining exactly what’s what and that there is nothing Bran can do about the past.

    I was strangely revved watching all the scenes from the past. So were all of you, and we have seen these scenes time and again for five seasons: time to get used to the visual violence. We have places to go (Watchers on the Wall, live long!) to hash it all out.

    He’s still just a young boy who has only heard about a few of the events, but not seen anything. Imagine how his mind is blown. With whom can he discuss his feelings, or rage against the horror and injustice? There’s just one gnarled old creature who’s telling him to chill, and Meera. I think he is trying to relay the horror to Meera, as in “Meera, I watched them walk into those situations, knowing what the outcome would be, and … They have no idea what’s going to happen.”

    Now, if the Bloodraven is benevolent and not some scheming old trickster with dreams of eternal youth, the training as to how to warn and intervene will begin as we watch it progress. Jon, wake up Jon, you’re a prince, Jon, and the world needs you.

    Can’t wait for April.

  184. Tyrion the myrion:
    Laura,

    I already know what you’re trying to imply but just don’t,Lady Stoneshit is still never going to be in the show ,FACT ! In fact i’m so convinced she’s not in the show that if i’m wrong, i’m willing to eat dog shit and put it on the internet for everyone to see

    Quoted just in case

  185. Dame Pasty: You have to stop reading my mind.

    That weirwood tree outside your office window serves me well. Regarding the rest of your thoughts…Shame! Shame, DP!

  186. miss:
    Jon is everywhere for a character supposedly died of death that will never return …

    Died of death! That’s what I want on my tombstone: Here lies a woman who lived life from her birthdate to her death date, when she died of a death the likes of which she could not survive.

    Back on topic, at 22 seconds into the trailer (https://youtu.be/IxI8aPISq8I?t=22s), there is a fiery scene that I didn’t recognize. Does anyone else recognize which scene this is? Thanks.

  187. Ginevra: Died of death!That’s what I want on my tombstone:Here lies a woman who lived life from her birthdate to her death date, when she died of a death the likes of which she could not survive.

    Back on topic, at 22 seconds into the trailer (https://youtu.be/IxI8aPISq8I?t=22s), there is a fiery scene that I didn’t recognize.Does anyone else recognize which scene this is?Thanks.

    I think that’s what everyone has been saying is ICE, or the reforging of Ice, the Valyrian steel sword that was passed down through House Stark, owned last by Ned Stark, and taken from him by the Lannisters. Tywin had it reforged into two swords,one given to Jamie, which he then gave to Brienne; and a sword given to/buried with Joff. It’s still Valyrian steel, Tywin having said something like he searched all over to find someone who still knows how to reforge Valyrian steel. Remember, Valyrian steel can kill a White Walker.

    I find it interesting that it was shown twice. Can this mean that the idea to reclaim both halves is being relayed to someone? Maybe this is why most of these visions are of House Stark? Reclaim, avenge and repair? And the spatter on Jon Snow’s lip in that poster is evidence of that vengeance starting to happen?

  188. Lord Foreshadow,

    Yeah, I go back and forth between these 2 options. Either BR and the CofTF are trying to save humanity (and not sure why that would be a priority for the CofTF), or Bran is being horribly manipulated by BR for his own purposes. As for the CofTF , I think they’re blood thirsty warriors who would like nothing more than to to wipe humans from the face of Westeros. Don’t let the cuteness fool you.

  189. Hodors Bastard: That weirwood tree outside your office window serves me well.

    “Office” window? Yeah, right, mate…..

    😉

    Sean C.: We don’t really know that, though. Martin leaves the issue of whether there’s a guiding intelligence behind the raw magic up in the air; he’s said he prefers to leave whether any of the gods actually exist open to interpretation.

    But it really is too late for that. R’hllor’s actions are very non-random: it’s not just some “energy” or some power source, but something with a purpose. Moreover, the actions are active, not passive: R’hllor is actively directing people to get behind some promised one (and seems to be directing them towards Daeny in the east), and also directing them against the Others. This is the difference between using fire to burn things and having the fire tell you what to burn.

    Now, R’hllor is opaque. However, we are opaque when we tell dogs and cats what to do: oh, they get some of it, but most of it goes over their heads. Similarly, the White Walkers (who also are “gods” in the eyes of some) have some purpose and intelligence, but humans do not seem to understand it. Ditto that for the Old Gods.

    So, that is at least 3 gods that we know have some intelligence behind them and who actively manipulate humans in some ways. Now, the Seven probably are imaginary, as is the Drowned God and most of the other gods. And whether R’hllor or the Walkers or the Old Gods truly are “gods” clearly is debatable: they are not omniscient or omnipotent, just a lot more “scient” and potent than humans. This is particularly true for the Old Gods: that’s just a symbiosis between greenseers and weirwoods. The Walkers clearly are potent magical beings, but they can die. And whatever R’hllor is, it is not all-capable. But the important point is that they are “godlike” and they are active, not passive.

    A completely separate question is: what is the role of magic in this? Do these entities create magic, or does magic create them? In a way, I would favor the latter idea: the Old Gods, the Walkers and R’hllor probably are all formerly normal people altered heavily by magic. But, then, isn’t that what a god would be, anyway?

    Regardless, at this point the story almost demands that Jon, Daeny, etc. and the readers understand the Walkers, R’hllor and the Old Gods. One very strong parallel among the most important characters is their struggles (and their own self-compromises) to find compromises between opposing factions. One strong trait of those characters is that they genuinely want solutions that benefit as many people as possible. Thus, when we get to the big conclusion, we (hopefully) will see how so many things have been leading up to this, and how Jon, Daeny, Tyrion, Bran and Arya (and maybe Sansa) happen to have evolved into the people that can solve the problem.

    Sean C.: The faith of R’hllor is a monotheistic religion which GRRM has said is based mainly on Zoroastrianism. It’s not unusual that such religions regard all other gods as demons.

    True: but the big difference is that the R’hllorites are actually being told this by the god, whereas Zorastrians and members of the Abrahamic religions just told themselves that. This is part of why I suspect that R’hllor originated from whatever understanding/truce was reached long ago that has been obfuscated by the Azor Ahai myth: and whatever it was might well have been heavily screwed by that solution.

  190. Lisa0527: I think they’re are blood thirsty warriors who would like nothing more than to to wipe humans from the face of Westeros. Don’t let the cuteness fool you.

    I do not know if they are quite that malevolent, but I would not be surprised if we do learn that they are far from Peace, Love and Granola, too. I should think it very possible that whatever the solution was to the last White Walker war, the Children did not love it. There is a bit more to be learned about what happened back then: not for the sake of gratuitous world building, but because the actions of the past almost certainly are critical to understanding the problems of the present. The key to ending the White Walker menace is not Valyrian steel or obsidian or dragon fire: it is undoing whatever restarted that threat. And we (and the main characters) probably will need to understand what ended the threat before: and that in turn could mean understanding what the prior solution cost the Children.

  191. maxoe:
    JCDavis,

    This sounds strange, as soon as I signed up on this site and created my username it automatically stored it and e-mail address. It does not matter how I access it, it is there. AND if you forgot your user name for this site then you don’t come here that often. Like the occasional trolls that stop by…just saying…

  192. Wimsey,

    I just meant that if you look at their history there’s nothing cute and cuddly about them. 1000 human sacrifices to shatter the arm of Dorne comes to mind. That’s evil.

    Ever wonder if the CofTF have manipulated things to cause a devastating war between the Others, men, dragons/R’Hllor which will leave Westeros totally destroyed? And then reclaim Westeros for themselves. I can’t think of a reason why they’d want to save humanity. I suspect they’re still fighting the last White Walker war. They’re just manipulating others to do their fighting for them.

  193. Lisa0527: Don’t let the cuteness fool you.

    Aw heck, it did fool me. I was sure they were sweet goodness willing to help the humans do anything to defeat the Wights & WW and put balance back into life in the south. And if that sounds the least bit snarky, no, that’s actually what I thought, but now, between you and Wimsey, I don’t have faith that any of the otherworldlies are going to be any good to our heros at all. Are they gonna have time to show all this stuff?

  194. Lisa0527: I just meant that if you look at their history there’s nothing cute and cuddly about them. 1000 human sacrifices to shatter the arm of Dorne comes to mind.

    Is that reliable history, though? I don’t recall that factoid, but if it’s from TWoIaF, remember that is supposed to be the chronicle of a Maester with a particular loyalty. History is always written by the victors. And GRRM has warned us that prophecies, “histories” and lore, especially from back in the Age of Heroes, are not always to be taken as literal fact. There’s nothing he loves more than unreliable narrators, false conventional wisdom etc. So I would take this, along with any other bit of ancient lore, with a very large grain of salt.

  195. Firannion,

    True. But we do know they were warriors enough to wage a fierce war for 2000 years against the First Men. A war that the First Men couldn’t win. So that’s pretty badass. Along with the likely sacrifice of 1000 human captives, and the shattering of the Arm of Dorne, with countless other deaths.

    I guess what I mean is that I don’t necessarily believe that they’re the cute, cuddly, forest friends of mankind, sacrificing themselves in a noble attempt to save humanity from the evil Others. Given their history, I just don’t think they’re prepared to go gently into the long night.

  196. Tywin of the Hill: Try to put the speed at 0.25.

    Cool! I didn’t even know you could do that. With the slower speed, that unknown fiery scene at 22 seconds in looks like a sword being pulled up. Is this the forging of a sword? If so, is it new? Is it the forging of Valyrian steel with dragon fire?

  197. Wimsey:
    But it really is too late for that.R’hllor’s actions are very non-random: it’s not just some “energy” or some power source, but something with a purpose.Moreover, the actions are active, not passive: R’hllor is actively directing people to get behind some promised one (and seems to be directing them towards Daeny in the east), and also directing them against the Others.This is the difference between using fire to burn things and having the fire tell you what to burn.

    We don’t know how the visions work, or if anyone is actually directing them. That’s just an assumption.

  198. Thronetender: I think that’s what everyone has been saying is ICE, or the reforging of Ice, the Valyrian steel sword that was passed down through House Stark, owned last by Ned Stark, and taken from him by the Lannisters. Tywin had it reforged into two swords,one given to Jamie, which he then gave to Brienne; and a sword given to/buried with Joff. It’s still Valyrian steel, Tywin having said something like he searched all over to find someone who still knows how to reforge Valyrian steel. Remember, Valyrian steel can kill a White Walker.

    I find it interesting that it was shown twice. Can this mean that the idea to reclaim both halves is being relayed to someone? Maybe this is why most of these visions are of House Stark? Reclaim, avenge and repair?And the spatter on Jon Snow’s lip in that poster is evidence of that vengeance starting to happen?

    Awesome! Thanks, Thronetender. I’m slowly catching up. I loved your post right before this response, too.

  199. Thronetender: Aw heck, it did fool me. I was sure they were sweet goodness willing to help the humans do anything to defeat the Wights & WW and put balance back into life in the south.And if that sounds the least bit snarky, no, that’s actually what I thought, but now, between you and Wimsey, I don’t have faith that any of the otherworldlies are going to be any good to our heros at all.Are they gonna have time to show all this stuff?

    I still have faith in the CotF. Great faith. I trust Old Nan almost more than anyone in the series – all of her crazy tales have come true, after all. And Old Nan tells us that the Last Hero was a hero because he found the CotF so that they could save the world, which makes the CotF much more heroic than the Last Hero, IMO.
    http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Last_hero

    I feel the same way about Bloodraven. He may not be perfect – hardly anyone is, especially in Planetos – but is he not the face of the trees? And are not the faces the Old Gods that the Starks have worshiped for hundreds of years? And would Jojen, who sees the future, sacrifice himself to get Bran to an evil mastermind? Perhaps I’m naive, but I would bet good money on trusting BR and the CotF.

  200. Thanks, Ghost. That seems to be the consensus, and so that sounds good to me. My question now is, did we actually see an image (clip) of Ice being reforged within the series already? And, if so, which episode? Does anyone recall? Or is this still new footage showing us something that has already happened albeit offscreen? Thanks.

  201. Ginevra,

    LOL. Died of… wait for it… DEATH!

    Hodors Bastard: The CotF (Leaf?) mentioned to Bran in passing that Coldhands “died long ago”….

    But that does bring up a decent point about who CH serves, and if he did die, did Bloodraven raise him from the dead? That implies that BR may be capable of using old god AND red god powers. Or it may simply imply that resurrection is “agnostic.” Ithink that CH was a member of BR’s ranging party who died when they went missing (which led to BR becoming aligned with the CotF and the weirnet) during Aegon V’s (Egg) reign, around 252 AC.

    This is what I was hinting at! You articulated it much better. And thanks on the Shiera Seastar recap! I think somebody else above mentioned her use of blood magic to glamour herself and fend off the effects of aging (Hence the theories regarding Mel’s parentage- though, I suppose if she’s THAT good the daughter in this theory could really be the mother- which would be very interesting for events at the wall in the very near future).

    Wow… Bastards. Everywhere.

  202. Hodors Bastard:

    My hope is that while Mel initiates her resurrection spells, Bran/BR plant the seeds of understanding and vision into Jon’s mind as he dwells in limboland. The power of the old gods and red god will be intertwined in Jon 2.0….but he will still have to face and accept his role and destiny (and the skeptical reactions of many, I assume). Will Mel and Bran serve as Jon 2.0’s proxy to the gods?

    You are throwing rocks tonight! Perhaps this is the unlikely partnership that results in not only the resurrection, but the reveal to Jon himself about who he is. I am kind of freaking out about the possibility of

    Bloodraven/Seastar reunion in the north, with Jon as the mission, however unlikely it may be- I could see this spelled out in the books, but perhaps it’s too much history for the show to dive into

    And while I blew the code on the last post, I think you’ll get it. Cheers!

  203. Wimsey,

    I have been considering what the “current” status of any potential war-ending treaties from thousands of years ago may look like.

    Typically, treaties will end in new alliances, economic agreements, and freshly drawn GEOGRAPHICAL BORDERS. Is it possible that the WW were given (accepted?) the far north, the children (who may have been screwed) were potentially used for their magic and bound to the wall, the first men retained Westeros (along with their collection of WW kryptonite in the form of Valaryian steel swords- modeled after AA’s Lightbringer?). Perhaps AA was given (banished?) to Valaryia. We don’t have a ton of information of the history of old Valaryia, particularly what happened with the Doom. The Doom happened, (screwing AA?) instigating the migration of Valaryian magic, blood, fire. Perhaps the descendants of AA (assuming this idea has any validity) have violated the terms of the treaty by invading Westeros (just 300 years ago), and bringing with them more Kryptonite (dragons). Perhaps they unwittingly ceded the WW’s an advantage by taking most of the Valaryian steel out of the hands of the old kings and forging a throne out of them. And maybe the fire and blood presence in westeros was enough to break the treaty and wake the WW’s.

    Just throwing these ideas out there.

  204. Sister Kisser: Bloodraven/Seastar reunion in the north

    I am rather intrigued by your SeaStar/Mel ideas…cool to ponder a crazy BR/Shiera scheme like that. Too bad no “guns have been hung” regarding that concept.

    Btw, I can’t believe you called Khal Oz and his Dothraki defeating Beric and his BwB last Sunday. Mucho respecto! Missed calls, penalties, injuries and snow! Madness I say!

    Also, how about the Cheesemongers of Butterwell against the Lannister Lions last night!! Seven Hails of Mary! Major sorcery was at work at the end of that melee! 🙂

  205. Ginevra: And would Jojen, who sees the future, sacrifice himself to get Bran to an evil mastermind? Perhaps I’m naive, but I would bet good money on trusting BR and the CotF.

    Thank goodness! you’ve made me feel so much better. Yeah, Jojen Reed, poor skinny little dude, forgot about him. You are right, he and Meera wouldn’t purposely take Bran to be sacrificed to some evil tree god. ok.

  206. Wimsey: “Office” window? Yeah, right, mate….

    🙂 Planting weirwoods is all about location, location, location, ser.

    Unfortunately, the current cams that are installed in each weirwood tree are only VGA with mono sound. I’m planning to upgrade each node to GoPro4 HD with Dolby sound by early next year for maximum clarity during the wars to come. In addition, Amerei Frey has discussed camming options with the brotherhood. Her first episode will take place at the Tower of Joy.

    As a sidebar, if you had “a thousand eyes…and one” what would you do? Read 500 comics at once? I think most would be up to no good with at least 500 of those eyes.

  207. Am I the only one who heard “We remember” and thought of a lady who “doesn’t speak, but remembers”? Is this a hint?

  208. Hodors Bastard,

    Seven Hails!!! Hahaha indeed. I cannot believe the Cheesemongers prevailed. That was all kinds of madness, and sorcery. Lord Butterwell may have claimed he prayed to the warrior, but I call queefdemon! A Qyburn resurrection! Blood magic! Something! And that Cheesemonger win basically secures their five seed, resulting in Wildling six seed position. I would still rather play Cam Connington and his Shadowcats, or Dame’s little birds down in Dorne, then go visit the Butterwells in January though.

    I’m currently in the land of the Vale…. everybody here is hopped up because they think they have a shot at Beric. We shall see. Each time he loses a receiver he loses just a bit more of himself….. though the High as Honor Eagles fell out the moon door weeks ago! My money is on the Brotherhood.

    As for Khal Oz…. Wow. He played well- and his Bloodriders play excellent defense!

  209. Sister Kisser: Each time he loses a receiver he loses just a bit more of himself…..

    That is an awesome observation. Well done, ser. Beric may need Thoros to creatively mend some bones and ligaments soon!

  210. Thronetender: Thank goodness! you’ve made me feel so much better.Yeah, Jojen Reed, poor skinny little dude, forgot about him. You are right, he and Meera wouldn’t purposely take Bran to be sacrificed to some evil tree god. ok.

    Well I agree with that. They wouldn’t knowingly do it. But who’s to say that the visions and dreams that BR sends are the truth? Likely not if you think there’s more to his story than saving humanity.

    The fact that BR is able to watch Mel through the flames, and likely control what she sees in the flames, is also very interesting to me. I’m guessing that many of the principal characters are being manipulated towards the coming war, for reasons other than their self interest.

  211. Ginevra: I still have faith in the CotF. Great faith. I trust Old Nan almost more than anyone in the series – all of her crazy tales have come true, after all

    I mean not really. We haven’t seen the White Walkers “hunting with their packs of pale spiders big as hounds” and there is also no evidance that “the sky is blue because we live inside the eye of a blue-eyed giant named ‘Macumber'” or that ” crows are all liars”. – But we know they are, just look at them, liars indeed…

  212. Abyss: I mean not really. We haven’t seen the White Walkers “hunting with their packs of pale spiders big as hounds”

    Season 7!

    “the sky is blue because we live inside the eye of a blue-eyed giant named ‘Macumber’”

    GRRM

    “crows are all liars”

    Don’t trust Bloodraven

  213. Firannion,


    To me he will always be, as someone else mentioned in another thread, the guy who played chess with Death in The Seventh Seal.

    Ditto. BTW if you were a Colbert Report viewer, you know he had a segment called ‘Cheating Death’ that opened with a clip of him (colbert) and death playing. It immediately cracked me up, had to explain to my DH why. We ended up going out to get the movie to watch. Still wonderful, if a tad dated

  214. Sister Kisser:
    Perhaps they unwittingly ceded the WW’s an advantage by taking most of the Valaryian steel out of the hands of the old kings and forging a throne out of them.

    There isn’t any Valyrian steel in the Iron Throne, that we know of; hence, “iron” throne. Aegon would never have wasted any swords that valuable for that purpose, anyway. Even House Targaryen only had two.

  215. Ginevra: I still have faith in the CotF. Great faith. I

    heh, Martin Luther thought that faith was the pathway to redemption, but history shows that it’s usually a pathway off of a cliff!

    Do not have faith in the Children: trust them. And trust them to do what is best for what remains of them. They’ve been hosed by humans, giants and Walkers. Their endgame is to save themselves, just like everyone else’s endgame will be.

  216. Hodors Bastard: As a sidebar, if you had “a thousand eyes…and one” what would you do? Read 500 comics at once? I think most would be up to no good with at least 500 of those eyes.

    I would get a whole set of colored contacts to get 1001 points of the spectrum. And then I’d do great party tricks by practicing winking one eye at a time in sequence: I’d be a huge hit at Festivus Parties this time of the year.

  217. Sister Kisser: Perhaps AA was given (banished?) to Valaryia.

    Was Valyria even around then?

    Anyway, I’m still suspicious that Azor Ahai and R’hllor are connected in some way. It would explain the hatred it engenders on its followers for both sides of the old conflict.

  218. That trailer is absolutely perfect tbh.

    I’m so happy there wasn’t any new footage. I’m beyond sick of trailers spoiling the series/films by showing too much too soon. Look at Jurassic World, gave everything away. New trailer for Batman vs Superman DoJ has just gave far too much away in attempts for fan service (reveal of certain characters).

    This gets people talking, and manages to get people excited without giving anything away at all.

    Just like its been shown by the Star Wars trailers, it is nearly always more effective to show/reveal less and rely on the suspense/discussion caused by it.

  219. Yikes! if the comment “They have no idea what’s going to happen,” is meant by the advertising company not only as a comment by Bran regarding the population of Westeros, but as a challenge/taunt/teasing of all the fans of GoT, as I believe it is, what does that mean? Does it mean that they are aware of all of our fan theories, yet are laughingly telling us that we aren’t even close, in fact, we are full of sh**? In a friendly way, of course. They wouldn’t want to insult us. But ye gods, could it be that we are THAT far off in our theories?

    This is my first full off-season on WotW. Were you guys far off in prior seasons? WAY far off in some respects? What did you think was going to happen in Season 5 that just fizzled? If anyone has it off the top of their heads, I really don’t want to wade through the archives.

  220. Hightower:
    Ravyn,

    Yes, BUT, it kinda sucked that he killed Ned Stark too, but it still made the story better. GRRM wants you to expect something, and then have the story go in a completely different direction. This is horrible enough for Martin, and would probably make a the story better. And, perhaps Jon Snow has a twin sister, in which case the Lyanna+Rhaeger story would still make sense.

    There are theories out there that Meera is Jon’s twin sister.

  221. Thronetender,

    Depends, by the time the season rolls on we used to know when most big scenes would happen but there are always some totally offbase theories floating about: a few people were totally convinced that Joffreys wedding was happening in ep 3.10.

  222. Maria: Another explanation, which has nothing to do with Children-Other pact, is that the religion of R’hllor is Martin’s Manichean take on monotheistic religions like Christianity, which used to see other gods as either false gods, or “demons.” This is what happens if you believe that your god is the only true, good god. All other gods are by default false, or, worse, demons, serving the “Other” god, the god of darkness and ice.

    It’s Zoroastrianism, mate:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

    Including temples of flame. The wiki article notes the link to Manichaeism.

  223. Thronetender,

    I’m not an off-seasoner (or not much of one), but I am Sullied. In previous seasons, I felt confident of the broad strokes of the storyline. This season, however, we are in uncharted territory. So while I feel strongly about some theories that have much supporting evidence, such as Jon Snow will be back from the dead in some form because R + L = J, I don’t have any strong idea of what will happen specifically. Bran’s line is intended to mean those still struggling in Westeros, of course, but it is also a nod to us Sullied who have had more than our fair share of foreknowledge. Until now.

  224. Ginevra: Bran’s line is intended to mean those still struggling in Westeros, of course, but it is also a nod to us Sullied who have had more than our fair share of foreknowledge. Until now.

    LOL, yeah, I forgot about the sullied watching the show with all that back-knowledge. Basically you’re saying that the advertising company, and by extension, D&D and GRRM, are going (with all fondness and semi-respect, of course) “neener, neener, NEENER” to all of you, and to all the fans on sites like this, as well. Diabolical, but very effective, I’d say.

  225. In the beginning of the video……We watch, we listen, and we remember=greenseer & children of the Forest watching everyone and not forgetting what happened to them in the past with the first men, now it is time……the white walkers are coming and westeros has no idea what is coming for them. Brynden Rivers is the Great Other and Bran doesn’t want humanity to be wiped out. He warns key players to prepare of the BIG battle that will be coming by season 7.

  226. Sue the Fury: This isn’t a trailer, it’s just the first teaser. And it’s quite a long voiceover for a first teaser. Compare it to previous ones:

    Sue, whose voice was that in the old teaser? Couldn’t place it to any known female character, except maybe Selyse Baratheon’s voice. Not that I think Selyse said this, but maybe the actress who eventually played her voiced it?

    “The Great War is between Death and Life; Ice and Fire. If we lose, the night will never end.”

    Very ominous, and probably more pertinent now, than in Season 3. But, you’re right, this season’s is waaay better than that one.

  227. Tyrion the myrion,

    Seriously haven’t we had “teasers” all summer and fall? I mean we have had more information “slipped and broadcasted” about what is going to happen in the new season, that I wonder if ANYTHING will be much of a surprise… just ENJOY what they offer up and RELAX… there needs to be some things left to the imagination!!

  228. Wimsey: Was Valyria even around then?

    Anyway, I’m still suspicious that Azor Ahai and R’hllor are connected in some way.It would explain the hatred it engenders on its followers for both sides of the old conflict.

    I have a feeling that something went wrong at the surrender negotiations. Maybe COTF took the opportunity to get rid of both the WW and AA at the same time. Banish the WW with the Wall and their magic and kill AA. We know the fairytale is a lie. So, what would be so horrible to cover up? Maybe COTF violated some form of guest right/ peace talk thing by betraying everybody. Got rid of both forces that they thought would destroy the world.

    WW and AA thought the peace talks were on the up and up. Then on the down low, the COTF got rid of both of them. That is the terrible event they are covering up for the heroic lie. The COTF are not the honorable and ancient Northerners who helped stop the Long Night along with their new BFF Azor Ahai. They are not nice people who are there to save humaity out of the goodness of their hearts. They are cold creatures that made the choice of stopping both destructive entities. Now, WW and AA are back and looking for payback for being lied to by the COTF.

    These entities are not back because they woke up in a bad mood one day. There is a grievance somewhere in the history.

  229. Aryamad,

    I just re started the series and indeed. Isaac was so little!! when watching the first episode all the Stark kids looked so much younger. But Isaac really had a grow spurt!

  230. Angela: That is the terrible event they are covering up for the heroic lie. The COTF are not the honorable and ancient Northerners who helped stop the Long Night along with their new BFF Azor Ahai.

    The CotF should have deep-rooted grievances. The FirstMen arrived, traded with them, invited the CotF to Thanksgiving dinner, drank with them, then betrayed them by burning their forests, building stone and wood castles on top of revered gravesites, and slaughtering their brethren with strange weapons. Under duress in those chaotic years, the CotF were forced to treat with the ugly Others and help build a stupid wall. But their anger has been building for millenia…and now they have loosed the WWs and have gathered human prisoners for experimentation.

    ——

    It would be funny if all of the human population of Westeros perished during the S7 CotF fireball massacre and S8 was nothing but the WWs, CotF, giants, ents, balrogs and direwolves fighting it out to the end. Then the final scene would be a disheveled Benjen arriving in an empty Hardhome from his long, lost journey, seeing Gendry rowing toward shore….and he looks upon the desolation, shouting “They finally really did it. Ah, Damn you! Goddamn you all to hell!”

    —–

    Seriously, the CotF mysteries are intriguing and probably slightly dubious.

  231. Oh my god , absolutely love it. The voice over is quality, perfect actor to bring on the show he will fit like a glove and make the show even better if that’s even possible and also ian mcshane both legends ,I think that maybe D&D thought last season was a bit dull and quiet bar 1 or 2 episodes definitely hardhome and are going to come all out in this season and give us non stop entertainment, action ,and plenty of answers to our questions. Like why not, yes they probably don’t want to give too much away but if they aim to please the fans and bring John back as azor ahai, Jon finding out about his parents, etc oh and the white walkers start riding their giant spiders ha ha would be so awesome, but if they do, it would be the most watched and loved season ever and then would make season 7 being the most anticipated if they leave another emmence cliffhanger. Just a thought or a dream ha ha.

  232. Sean C.,

    Yes for sure they will have bran get alot of screen time and I believe he will be far more interesting and crucial to the war that’s coming ,probably some cool warging ,visions with crucial and exciting information and some communication through the trees.

  233. Hodors Bastard: The CotF should have deep-rooted grievances. The FirstMen arrived, traded with them, invited the CotF to Thanksgiving dinner, drank with them, then betrayed them by burning their forests, building stone and wood castles on top of revered gravesites, and slaughtering their brethren with strange weapons. Under duress in those chaotic years, the CotF were forced to treat with the ugly Others and help build a stupid wall. But their anger has been building for millenia…and now they have loosed the WWs and have gathered human prisoners for experimentation.

    ——

    It would be funny if all of the human population of Westeros perished during the S7 CotF fireball massacre and S8 was nothing but the WWs, CotF, giants, ents, balrogs and direwolves fighting it out to the end. Then the final scene would be a disheveled Benjen arriving in an empty Hardhome from his long, lost journey, seeing Gendry rowing toward shore….and he looks upon the desolation, shouting “They finally really did it. Ah, Damn you! Goddamn you all to hell!”

    —–

    Seriously, the CotF mysteries are intriguing and probably slightly dubious.

    That could be a possbility. We just don’t know what happened and it could be the COTF getting revenge. The underlying point of the post is there is a reason why everything is back and the stories are unreliable.

    I love the Benjen and Gendry part. I hope we find out someday what happened to Benjen.

  234. Angela: The underlying point of the post is there is a reason why everything is back and the stories are unreliable.

    Yeah…I appreciate the alternative take on the CotF mindset. I couldn’t help but compare the CotF “plight” to that of the American Indian. 🙂 I hope we get more definitive (hopefully twisted) history of the CotF, but I doubt the show will go there.

    It would be funny if Benjen and Gendry were the last men standing in Westeros. Btw, I totally stole that quote from “Planet of the Apes.”

  235. Hodors Bastard: I couldn’t help but compare the CotF “plight” to that of the American Indian

    I think you’re onto something here. Living in a place like New Mexico, GRRM may very well have strong feelings about the plight of indigenous peoples. My guess is that neither the CotF nor Bloodraven will turn out to be wholly good nor wholly evil, but that each will turn out to have an agenda of self-interest about which we will hopefully learn a great deal more.

  236. Firannion: each will turn out to have an agenda of self-interest about which we will hopefully learn a great deal more.

    Totally excited about this, especially after the teaser. Exposition and visions should make for some fun viewing in S6/TWoW! Given that the ever-wily BR and Bran are essentially trapped in that underground cave, what if their visions and/or enlightened discussion lead to a less-than-hopeful depiction of their indigenous hosts?

  237. Sean C.,

    Of course, thanks for that. Bloody obvious, but in my late night speculation I completely overlooked that. Duh!

    Wimsey: Was Valyria even around then?

    Banished to the land where Valyria was eventually founded? We don’t know much about “the doom”, but we know it destroyed the Valaryian civilization, which was the birthplace of the steel that is essentially WW kryptonite, and was the ancestral home of the bloodline that is seemingly going to lead the fight against the WW’s. I’m speculating that AA ended up there as part of an agreement that ended the long night. Of course, there is likely some history out there that will prove me otherwise.

  238. Hodors Bastard,

    Season 6 will be all about enlightening everyone- book readers and show watchers alike- with the history that has led to the current state of Westeros. Ancient history, modern history, the answers to many of these riddles we are all obsessed with. All this to set the stage for the final act. So stoked!

    BTW. The Valemen are currently having their way with the Brotherhood. Sorry, not sorry! 🙂 Ser Beric looks like a wounded warrior, and the sorcery is not working tonight!

  239. Sister Kisser: The Valemen are currently having their way with the Brotherhood. Sorry, not sorry! Ser Beric looks like a wounded warrior, and the sorcery is not working tonight!

    Nothing makes sense anymore. Are we sure that is Beric and not a glamoured HotPie? And how about Khal Oz and his khalasar!! And Cam and the Conningtons!! Has someone blown the horn of Joramun recently? Madness!

  240. Hodors Bastard,

    Madness, indeed. What a shootout between the Conningtons and the Faith Militant. Was hoping for a different outcome. Grayscale unleashed!

    Horn or no horn, prepare yourself for a Wildling invasion!

  241. Luka Nieto,
    Nice one, I forgot about Ramsey’s charming pearls! What about Selyse to her daughter, ‘you have no idea what people will do; all your books, and you still don’t know…’ D&D should be careful of becoming too meta-cutesy, though. Coy asides, tits and guts shouldn’t come at the expense of intelligent storytelling.

  242. Newbietothegame,

    Nothing. I was having trouble getting my comment to show up in another thread, and I wasn’t sure if the problem was on my end, or just that specific page. I came to this article to test it because it no one had commented in over a day. Turns out it’s the latter.

    Apologies – I should have picked an article further down in the newsfeed. I thought I’d be able to delete my comment entirely afterwards by editing it and removing all of the text, but it turns out that’s no longer possible since the commenting system has been updated. Alas.

    Again, sorry for the disturbance.

  243. Bergey: Now what I would love to see: Bran sees Jon’s death as it happens with the sight, wargs into Wun Wun in a rage, and starts murdersquishing the traitors.

    Are there even any wildlings at the Wall? I haven’t seen any since they passed through the gate & definitely not in the last 2 episodes. Jon believed Olly when he said a wildling at the Wall knew Benjen, but he also believed the bit about Benjen.

    Bran doesn’t have to warg Wun Wun. Wun Wun knows what’s up. He’s 14 feet tall & doesn’t have brain damage.

  244. So excited <3 That Bran warging into Jon theory sounds cool but doesnt seem it's going to happen. Oh well!

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